Rail Sarbaev: crisis should accelerate our movement to the appointed goals

The Prime-Minister of Government RB Rail Sarbaev took part in the seminar for the heads of municipal and city districts RB, held in Ufa. The text of his speech is given briefly below:

“In 2009 Republic of Bashkortostan has experienced the negative influence of the global financial-economic crisis as well as many other Russian regions.

The accumulated economic potential and structural reforms on diversification and modernization of the Republican economics, made earlier, let us substantially soften the after-effects of the crisis phenomena and to achieve more positive dynamics by the end of 2009.

In the course of the whole year our Republic had the indices, which exceeded the average Russian level and the level of Volga federal district by the majority of the macroeconomic showings.

According to preliminary estimation the index of industrial production in December 2009 made 107,7% - the highest index fr om the beginning of the last year. The average monthly level of industrial production index made 87,9% in the first quarter and 94,1% in the second and the third quarters. In a whole the index of industrial production in 2009 has to make at least 96,4%.

The circulation of our organizations has to exceed the level of 1,4 billion rubles – more than 80% of the previous year’s level. As in the previous years the enterprises and organizations of Ufa provided about 40% of the Republican volume of the shipped-off output and the volume of shipped goods, works and services on all types of economic activity and by all our enterprises has to exceed the sum of 800 billion rubles and this figure corresponds to 87% of the previous year.

In the building sphere, strongly dependent on volumes and terms of investment activity, the drop of amount of executed works will make more than 20%. In spite of very unfavorable situation 2352 thousand square meters of housing has been put into operation in 2009, i.e. 100% to the level of 2008.

For 11 months 2009 the summarized financial result of enterprises and organizations at the Republican municipal and city districts made more than 40 billion rubles and at that the revenues of the enterprises made 54,3 billion rubles and the losses – 13,6 billion.

The share of unprofitable large and medium enterprises and organizations in January-November 2009 made 19,8% (234 of 1183 enterprises) against 12,1% in January-October 2008.

42 municipal and 5 city districts have reached positive financial results for the abovementioned period of time.

The number of the Republican citizens, officially registered as unemployed, made 43,9 thousand people on January 1, 2010, - by 3500 people more than on December 1, 2009. The level of registered unemployment made 2,1% of economically active population and that laid within the parameters of the Program of additional measures on struggle with unemployment (2,31%).

The highest level of unemployment is registered in the town of Agidel (7,69%), in the town of Mejgorie (4,78%) and in Belokataysky municipal district (4,07%). The lowest level of unemployment is registered in Ermekeevsky, Aurgazinsky, Miakinsky, Durtulinsky and Tuimazinsky municipalities. This is not accidentally and as we can see the level of population employment is determined by the state of local production.

The lowest rates of industrial production are registered in Agidel (55,3%), Neftekamsk (67,6%), in Chishminsky (70,1), Belebeevsky (76,5), Ilishevsky (70,4) and Sterlitamacsky (78,6) municipal districts and practically these are the territories with the mono-structural economics.

Talking about the situation in investment sphere in a whole, the volume of investments to new production in 2009 made 47,4 billion rubles and that allowed opening more than 6 thousand new workplaces. At present time 78 mega-projects for the sum about 600 billion rubles are found under realization on the territory RB and these projects are aimed at opening of 60 thousand new workplaces. About 500 investment projects are developed on the municipal territories for the sum of more than 75 billion rubles and these projects will open new workplaces for more than 20 thousand people.

The Strategy of social-economical development RB till 2020 determines the prior directions in development of the real sector of economics and social sphere and the most important are: modernization of economics, aimed at the rise of efficiency and competitive ability, the growth of innovational constituent in economics, the increase of the volumes of high-tech and science-intensive output, stimulation of new technologies’ development, improvement of population’s living standards. I‘d like to emphasize that the crisis mustn’t shift us from the main course but has to accelerate our movement to the pre-planned goals.

Such branches of economics as chemistry and oil-chemistry, agriculture, machine-building, metal working and building will contribute to further development of competitive advantages of our Republic. Oil production, concentrated in Ufa and Salavat, preserves the leading role in the Republican economics and the branch possesses real reserves for growth of oil refining volumes. The growth of high-octane benzene consumption, forecasted by experts, demands changes in the structure of the main oil product output.

The share of chemical production makes about 15% and this sort of activity combines more than 20 large and medium enterprises, located in Ufa, Sterlitamac, Salavat, Blagoveshensk, Ishimbay, Meleuz and Tuimazy, wh ere about 6% of the whole Russian chemical production is concentrated. Consolidation of competitive positions in external and internal markets, based on the scientific-technical potential of the branch, is the main guideline in development of our chemical complex.

Agriculture is considered the next priority in our state policy and modernization of the production and technical base in our agriculture and manufacturing of high-quality foodstuffs are the key guidelines in development of the Republican agricultural complex.

The rise of competitiveness of products and productions, technological and technical renovation of our enterprises and efficient realization of the available potential are the strategic goal in development of the Bashkir machine-building complex.

The building branch has the decisive importance for creation of the main assets of all branches of economics and for provision of favorable living and cultural conditions of habitation.

Realization of the Republican goal-oriented program “Development of low building in Republic of Bashkortostan – My Own House” is launched in Bashkortostan as one of the anti-crisis steps.

The program presumes erection of low economical-class housing with the cost of one square meter at the level of 11-14 thousand rubles. The cheapest wooden house with the area 54 square meters costs 450 thousand rubles and the most expensive – 1,2 million rubles. The average price of such cottages makes 600-800 thousand rubles.

Energy-saving is one more substantial reserve for the rise of our economics competitive ability. The Government RB approved the program “Energy-saving in 2008-2012” and the main program’s goal is provision of stable and efficient functioning of our economics thanks to rational usage of energy resources and turning to the energy-saving way of development.

It is quite clear that these programs have to affect those types of economic activity, which are able to influence favorably on positive dynamics in social-economic development of the Republican territories. In sphere of industrial production we face the task to form a modern high-tech industrial complex, providing manufacturing of well-demanded output, stable tax intakes to the budgets of all levels and the rise of population’s living standards.

In agricultural sector the measures have to be directed to financial recovery of our agricultural producers and development of different forms of economy, including private auxiliary farmings, and provision of food safety due to creation of the prerequisites for stable development of rural territories and improvement of living standards in the countryside. The Government RB pays high attention to support of private auxiliary farmings. About 60% of the whole agricultural output falls on their share. Private farmings produce more than 94% of potato, 85% of honey, 73% of vegetables, 71% of cattle and poultry meat and 69% of milk.

Municipal formations represent the basic level of economics and social sphere because municipal authorities work with ordinary people, managers and work collectives and I do hope that all of you clearly understand that further stable social-economic development of Bashkortostan depends on well-coordinated and efficient work of state and municipal authorities, i.e. on all of us”.