CHEBOKSARY, October 28 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's agriculture minister said Friday that the European Union's subsidizing agricultural produce exports was unfair. Speaking to the chief editors of local papers in the central Russian region of Chuvashia, Alexei Gordeyev said the EU was paying $12 per metric ton of exported grain.
"This is not fair," he said. "I think we can demand a political inquiry."
Local agricultural production is subject to subsidies in the EU, Gordeyev said.
"They fund 25% of every kilo of meat and 50% of every kilo of butter," the minister said.
Gordeyev said Russia should respond adequately to the EU's attempts to win its agricultural market and squeeze it from third markets and regretted Russia had to make concessions while seeking accession to the World Trade Organization, as the country's position at WTO talks was weak.
