Alexander Drozdenko, governor of Leningrad Oblast, stated: “41% of all consumable goods produced in the whole of the Northwestern Federal District come from Leningrad Oblast. Not long ago we were a serious producer of fish, and today we are in third place in the whole of Russia in terms of trout production. This year we have also increased our fish sales by 20%. We don’t just deal with chicken eggs; we are now one of Europe’s largest producers of ostrich, duck and quail eggs. Our region has a bright future ahead of it. This year, almost 8 billion rubles from the budget of Leningrad Oblast will be invested in developing agriculture and territories.”

Olga Gatagova, deputy minister for agriculture of the Russian Federation, read a welcoming message from Dmitry Patrushev, Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation: “The AGRORUS exhibition and trade fair is one of the largest events in Russia designed to stimulate the development of farming and agricultural operations in our country, and to ensure sales of agricultural produce on the internal and external markets. I firmly believe that this year, the event will again be organized to the highest possible standard and will ensure steady growth in the agricultural-industrial complex and a stronger role for smaller agricultural operations.”

Guests and participants were welcomed by Sergei Bebenin, chairman of the Legislative Assembly of Leningrad Oblast: “We are truly proud of the fact that Leningrad Oblast has an effective management system for supporting the development of agricultural production, and supporting anyone who wants to work the land. The section of the budget earmarked for supporting Leningrad’s agricultural production always effectively leads to growth, so we support the proposal by agricultural professionals to increase financing of all areas of activity. I believe that we will achieve new levels of production.”

Sergei Yakhnyuk, deputy of the Russian State Duma, confirmed that AGRORUS represents an opportunity and a forum for dialog, to consider the future of agriculture: “It must be said that over the last 10 years, Russia has made great strides in developing its own production base. We have seen that provision of the main types of produce has reached levels of 90–95%. Today, on this platform, Leningrad Oblast is affirming its stable development.”

Yevgeny Yelin, vice governor of St. Petersburg, wished visitors well: “Almost 5.5 million people live in our city, with another 2 million visiting every day, and we all want to eat. So, we, as citizens, are big fans of developing agricultural production in Leningrad Oblast. We have more than 70 enterprises in St. Petersburg processing agricultural materials. What’s more, the ports and the entire transport system are connected to this production, so wishing you the best of luck means wishing myself the same”.

The ceremony was closed by Sergei Voronkov, CEO of Expoforum International: “Leningrad Oblast Day has always been the most colorful and lively holiday in our calendar of more than 200 events being held at Expoforum. We have been waiting for this day to fill us with energy and optimism for the whole coming year. This time, it as twice as exciting for the exhibition season to be beginning with this day and AGRORUS. We are all members of Team 47, because during the pandemic, 2.5 million people were living in Leningrad Oblast. Opening this event today, we express the wish that more than 500 of our farming enterprises find their consumers here”.

Sponsor of the exhibition – Russian Agricultural Bank (Joint Stock Company).

Partner of AGRORUS exhibition – Gazprombank (Joint Stock Company).