It is possible that the Russian Federation will expand the import substitution program, including agricultural machinery.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade is going to seriously limit the import of agricultural machinery by increasing the recycling fee rates on it by 5 times starting from January 1, 2025.
This means that for each unit of machinery imported from abroad, a significant amount will have to be paid to the budget, while Russian manufacturers and sellers are exempt from this.
Moreover, it is planned that from 2026 to 2030, the recycling fee will grow by about 15% per year, and this will apply to most types of machinery.
Thus, in the next 5 years, the fee may reach such a level that it will become practically prohibitive, experts note.
In the near future, the starting amount of the duty will be calculated for 2025, based on the needs of farmers for imported machinery, the Ministry of Industry and Trade notes, and the Ministry of Agriculture will calculate this need.
It is noted that the draft government resolution, which will introduce a measure of indexation of 5 times the size of the recycling fee, has already been prepared.
At the same time, the Ministry of Industry and Trade understands that at the moment Russian and Belarusian manufacturers are not yet able to fully replace agricultural machinery supplied from other countries.
For this reason, the department plans to slightly soften the introduced restrictions by establishing a quota for the import of agricultural machinery.
Products supplied within the quota will be subject to the recycling fee, which is currently in effect as of 2024. That is, in the amount of 20% of the rate that may come into force on January 1.
It is noted separately that not all agricultural machinery supplied to Russia will be subject to the recycling fee.
An exception will be made for those that are not yet mass-produced in the Russian Federation and Belarus. We are talking about a fairly wide range of models.
For example, these are combines for harvesting beets and potatoes. Their production in the Russian Federation is still at the development stage, so strict import requirements in the absence of a domestic alternative would simply put consumers in difficult conditions.
At the same time, experts are concerned that the measures taken by the government will in any case cause an increase in the price of agricultural machinery.
It is planned that it can amount to 12-18% for certain models.
In the context of falling prices for agricultural products and falling production margins, this can be a rather sensitive blow to companies.
Therefore, industry representatives hope that the Ministry of Industry and Trade will work out new measures in detail so that those who need imported agricultural machinery, which has no analogues yet, can get access to it without large overpayments.
