In 7M 2020, Russian Agricultural Bank (RusAg, the Bank) issued RUB 253.9 billion to agricultural producers for seasonal works. The demand for seasonal works financing by the Bank among agribusiness companies increased by 27.4% as compared to the same period of 2019. The total volume of loans issued by RusAg to agribusiness borrowers increased by 28.8% as compared to the same period of last year, and amounted to RUB 885.9 billion.
“The growth of lending to the agricultural sector, including seasonal works, confirms that agricultural producers need serious support. RusAg as a pivotal bank for agribusiness creates all the necessary conditions for farmers to access financial resources. Concessional loans at a rate of up to 5% are becoming the driver – they allow attracting new borrowers on comfortable terms. Since the beginning of the year, we have issued loans to farmers in the amount of RUB 114.5 billion on preferential terms – almost half of all funds for seasonal works”, Irina Zhachkina, First Deputy Chairman of the Board of RusAg, said.
The bulk of loans for seasonal works fell on processors of agricultural products: oilseeds, grain crops, milk and other. In total, RUB 15.3 billion was allocated to processors and food manufacturers for the current period of the harvesting campaign (from 10 June to 31 July 2020). The Bank issued RUB 14 billion to livestock enterprises, and RUB 11.5 billion to crop production companies.
At the same time, the Bank’s lending products were most popular with borrowers from the Rostov region. The second place is taken by the Penza region, the third, fourth and fifth places – by the Kaliningrad region, the Krasnodar Territory and the Voronezh region, respectively. The regions from this list, namely the Rostov, Voronezh regions and the Krasnodar Territory, were previously included by the specialists of the Center for Industry Expertise of RusAg in the top 10 constituent entities of the Russian Federation in terms of the investment attractiveness of the agribusiness industry. These territories have significant potential for increasing the production of agricultural products both by increasing production efficiency and the processing depth.
Note: Financial data is under RAS