The stabilization of sugar prices on the Russian market in 2021 will be facilitated by the expansion of the area under sugar beet in Russia, by 14.4% to 1.06 million hectares. This was stated by the First Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Dzhambulat Khatuov, at the general meeting of the Union of Sugar Producers of Russia ("Soyuzrossahar"). The event was attended by Deputy Minister Oksana Lut, the union leadership and the largest producers, who summarized the development of the industry in 2020, discussed the prospects for the current year, as well as the price issues in the market of the sugar.

According to the forecast of the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia, taking into account the expansion of cultivated areas, the production of beet in 2021 will amount to at least 40 million tons, which will allow to obtain about 6 million tons of sugar. This volume will be sufficient to meet the needs of the domestic market and the formation of remaining stocks, which in general will contribute to maintaining a stable market situation.

According to Oksana Lut, the Ministry of Agriculture constantly monitors changes in the prices of agricultural sugar producers; they are currently at the level specified in the December agreement. The vice minister thanked the market participants who joined the agreement for fully complying with their obligations. The inclusion of the absence of violations by the converters is confirmed by the data of the Federal Tax Service. At the same time, it is important that the main market participants avoid sudden changes in the prices of their products in the future, even after the end of the agreement.

Andrey Bodin, Chairman of the Board of Soyuzrossahar, noted that last year the industry successfully weathered the negative consequences of the pandemic, not a single systemically important company stopped its work. In addition, in 2020 the demand for Russian sugar on the world market increased, allowing exports to develop dynamically. An important development in this direction was the adoption of a decree by the Government of the Russian Federation, allowing market participants to enter into export agreements. Overall, according to Andrei Bodin, despite all the industry challenges, it is possible to keep prices low. The Union will continue to work to offer the population affordable products of social importance.