FAO’s Liaison Office in Moscow convened a consultation meeting with industry unions yesterday to discuss the feasibility of organizing an inter-sectorial Agricultural Outlook conference in Russian Federation.

The meeting hosted top managers of some of the most influential unions representing the interests of the Russian meat, dairy, sugar and grain business. Representatives of the World Bank, the Russian Central Bank and leading local analytical centres also were present at the consultation.

The majority of participants favoured the idea of holding an agricultural outlook conference in Russia towards the end of 2016 or in 2017. While the “market” for agricultural conferences in Russia is believed to be rather saturated, participants agreed that Russian business would be interested in participating in an event analyzing the mid- to long-term trends of agricultural commodity markets in Russia and the world. It was recommended that the first Outlook conference focus on export markets and external and internal investments in Russian agriculture.