PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF IMPORT SUBSTITUTION IN THE RUSSIAN AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRY

The study is aimed at identifying the problems and prospects of import substitution in the Russian agricultural sector, taking into account regional development and import substitution trends. An analysis of the development of agriculture and the agro‑industrial sector at the regional level showed that the problems of import substitution should be considered taking into account the variety of methods of state regulation. To assess the regional effectiveness of import substitution in agriculture, an approach to ranking the regions is proposed. The import substitution indices are determined by the Euclidean distance method. The results obtained demonstrate that import substitution is carried out most effectively in the Volga Federal District, the Southern Federal District and the North Caucasian Federal District. Import substitution is less effective in the Urals Federal District, the Northwest Federal District and the Far Eastern Federal District. An analysis of the research data led us to conclude that the state regulation in the agricultural sector is insufficiently effective and the economic effect of import substitution in agriculture is to increase. We justified the need to formulate an adequate strategy and instruments of state support aimed not only at regulating the volume and structure of agricultural production, the ratio of exports and imports of agricultural products, but also at taking into account sectoral and regional characteristics. The priority for regions with a low level of agricultural development, in our opinion, is the introduction of resource and energy‑saving technologies, the restructuring of production structures with the allocation of small specialized high‑tech industries; a decrease in the share of commodity exports and the production of high value‑added products. For regions that are characterized by a less diversified sectoral structure of the agro‑industrial complex, in the context of the import substitution strategy, the guideline is to achieve specialization and strengthen positions in existing agricultural activities.

agribusiness, agriculture, international trade, economic sanctions, food, regional potential, food security, ranking of regions, state policy, import substitution.

Chernova V. Yu., Zobov A. M., Degtereva E. A., Starostin V. S. Problems and prospects of import substitution in the russian agricultural industry. Business. Education. Law, 2019, no. 4, pp. 219–225. DOI: 10.25683/VOLBI.2019.49.436.