UPDATE - Medvedev Says Share Of Russian Farm Machinery In Fields Now Over 60%, Praises Good Result

KRASNODAR (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th January, 2019) Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday that the increase in the share of Russian agricultural machinery operating in crop fields to more than 60 percent was a good result.

"In 2006, when we started a national agriculture project, I want to emphasize that the share of machinery � not junk, but active and working [machinery] � that we had in the fields was 5-7 percent, maybe 10 percent ... Now we have more than 60 percent of Russian-made pieces of machinery. This is a good result. Especially since it was achieved in a short time," Medvedev said during a meeting in Krasnodar.

Medvedev also noted that demand for Russian-made machinery increased abroad, adding that the government planned to further promote its export, including within the framework of national projects for the development of priority industries.

Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov said at the meeting that Russian export of agricultural machinery increased by 40 percent to 11 billion rubles ($166 million) last year and was expected to grow by 150 percent more by 2024.

"We set ourselves the task of raising this bar by 2.5 times by 2024. Thus, we will be able to increase the share of exports in the industry to at least 50 percent of the amount of shipments to the domestic market," Manturov said.

According to the minister, export of Russian farm machinery is now executed to more than 40 countries, including Germany and the United Kingdom.