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agriculture development program by about 41.2% to a combined figure of RUB586.074bn ($10.1bn) in 2018–2020. The current edition of the program sees budget financing at RUB300.227bn in 2017, at RUB324.028bn in 2018, at RUB337.775bn in 2019, and at RUB350.364bn in 2020. But the budget stipulates financing of RUB215.852bn this year, RUB197.958bn in 2018, and RUB194.056bn in 2019. The new edition of the state program includes these figures and also envisages financing of RUB194.060bn in 2020.
Russia's agricultural watchdog Rosselkhoznadxor will shortly announce a ban on import to Russia of poultry products and hatching eggs from EU countries that have registered avian influenza cases, the agency's spokesperson was quoted as saying by TASS on February 4. According to Rosselkhoznadzor, cases of bird flu have been registered in 22 European countries, but the agency did not say specifically which now face import bans. The decision is expected within two weeks, the report said. The watchdog previously announced minor limits on supplies of agricultural products from certain districts of European countries where outbreaks were registered. The decision won't have a noticeable impact on Russian consumers in the short term, Nezvisimaya Gazeta reported on February 6.
Russia has become self sufficient in sugar and could start exporting it soon . Aided by an import tax Russia introduced in 2004 to shield domestic firms from foreign competition, producers have been able to invest in making beet refining more efficient. The money spent by producers like Ros Agro, Prodimex Group and Dominant Group to make plants more efficient means Russia will this season become self-sufficient. Higher local prices also encouraged farmers to boost plantings. The nation will probably export “considerably” more than it imports in the 2016-17 season, the International Sugar Organization predicts. ISO Senior Economist Sergey Gudoshnikov says exports may reach a record 500,000 metric tons this season. Still, the Moscow-based Institute for Agricultural Market Studies, or Ikar, forecasts a total of 180,000 tons. That would keep Russia a net importer. Benchmark global white-sugar prices gained about 40% in the past year and the prices on the domestic market are directly linked to the international prices, even if Russia is self sufficient in sugar. Russian production will reach a record 6.1mn tons this season, according to the Russian Union of Sugar Producers, up four fold from 2000. Even with net exports, Russia would account for a fraction of the global total. Brazil, the largest producer, ships out about 25mn tons a year. World output will probably exceed demand by about 2mn tons in the 2017-18 season that starts in October in most countries, F.O. Licht GmbH estimates.
9.1.7 TMT sector news
Total investment in augmented and virtual reality (AR&VR) in Russia jumped 3.5-fold year-on-year to RUB700mn (€11.4mn) in 2016 , according to data of the Augmented and Virtual Reality Association (AVRA). The number of companies in the segment tripled from 60 to 183 in 2016, with most located in Moscow (105) and St Petersburg (25). The main driver in the industry were small studios of 3 to 20 people. AR&VR content and technology is used in education, entertainment, architecture and other spheres, along with the traditional use in advertising and marketing, according to AVRA. In December 2016, AVRA said that AR&VR would be the main focus of the National Technology Initiative (NTI) road map expected to be adopted in 2017. The head of AVRA, Ekaterina Filatova, told Izvestia daily that in the draft of the AR&VR development road map
94 RUSSIA Country Report February 2017 www.intellinews.com