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in a note. The retailer currently operates 13,917 convenience stores as of March 2019, and has agreements to place 10,150 parcel lockers in them by 2025. X5 leads the food retail sector in attempts to fit into changing and digitalising trade, developing an e-commerce store, delivery capabilities for other online stops and marketplaces, and extending its dietary options to the ready-to-eat and super-fresh categories, reports VTBC. Investors like what has become the new darling of the retail sector and the company’s stock is up 41% YTD, reflecting the sustainability of the company’s robust results and improving sentiment toward domestic stories, say analysts.
9.1.6 Agriculture sector news
The Ministry of Agriculture in the near future does not plan to revise the forecasts for grain crops due to huge forest fires blazing in Siberia this summer, a department representative told Vedomosti. “The Ministry of Agriculture is closely monitoring the situation, a preliminary assessment of the damage to the agriculture of the region is being carried out,” he said. The fires covered a territory the size of Belgium as of the end of July. The current forecast of the Ministry of Agriculture for the collection of cereals for 2019 is 118mn tons, including 75mn tons of wheat. According to the ministry, as of July 29, 50.3mn tons of grain and leguminous crops were milled from 14.5mn hectares; yield lower than last year - 34.7 c / ha against 36 c / ha. Many analysts have revised their the crop forecasts down as a result of the fires: ICAR lowered the estimate to 120.2mn tons from 121.5mn tons, the Sauvecon's forecast is even lower than the official one - 117.2mn tons; wheat data - 74.6mn tons and 73.7mn tons, respectively.
MinSelKhoz request federal support as crop yields decline. Amid declining crop yields, the Ministry of Agriculture is requesting that the White House resume subsidized lending for agriculture exports, expand preferential grain
88 RUSSIA Country Report August 2019 www.intellinews.com