Radiy Khabirov: Sanctions turned Russian market towards us

UFA, 19 April 2019. /Bashinform News Agency, Azat Gizatullin/ translated by Tatiana Aksyutina/.

The return of Crimea to Russia, in spite of all forecasts, did not isolate our country from the rest of the world. It was stated by the Acting Head of Bashkortostan Radiy Khabirov at a plenary meeting of the Fifth Yalta International Economic Forum.

“Regional economies have received many benefits from the import substitution policy. Bashkortostan, for example, has always been famous for its agriculture. However, we had a problem - produced a lot, and the demand was low in the domestic market. Sanctions turned the Russian market towards us. This gave our republic a powerful impetus to the animal husbandry and crop production development. Our products have become more popular. As they say, they are sold like hot cakes. The agrarian regions with a more consistent, large-scale support of the agro-industrial sector from the federal center, powerful state investments in the industry, can not only feed the whole country but also make good revenues from exports. Plus, we are starting to grow new agricultural products, master new food products”, said Radiy Khabirov.

The head of the republic stressed that last year industry in Bashkortostan grew by 3.4%, compared with the all-Russian figure of 2.6%. To a large extent, it was also positively affected by the sanctions.

“In Bashkortostan today there are five priority development areas. Now we are forming another special economic zone. These are all new tools to strengthen the regional economy, ” marked Radiy Khabirov.