ELISTA, KALMYKIA, June 17 (RIA Novosti) - As President Vladimir Putin sees it, government support of the agro-industrial complex is to avoid an adverse effect on macroeconomics, in particular, inflation rates.
It demands the utmost accuracy to appoint rates of interest on farm credits, he said to a State Council Presidium session.
"The matter does not boil down to mere interest loans," Russia's President said.
"The Finance Ministry is alarmed as such loans may boost the inflation, which is a bit too big, as it is."
The President quoted current Ukrainian developments to exemplify incautious measures of that kind. "They made just one false step-and people began lining the gasoline queues at once," he said.
President Putin highlighted the many variants of patterns agricultural support might take. "There are support measures that do not imply whatever danger of boosting the inflation-and they promise far better results," he said.
The President spoke up against fixing sale prices for agricultural producers at particular periods of time, after one of the regional governors present at the session called to introduce that practice.
"As for the prospect for commodity producers to sell their products at fixed prices for a certain period of time, we cannot guarantee it-or we shall have producers relaxed to such an extent that they will no longer do anything at all," he explained.
As the President sees it, the situation demands not fixed prices but a particular regimen: "The producer must be sure the state has elaborated certain rules, and must arrange his work proceeding from that. He must independently work to bring down production costs, and keep prices at a particular level."
