OREANDA-NEWS. On 10 August 2009 was announced, that from July 29 to August 2 the Finnish town of Kokkola welcomed the international agricultural excibition FARMARI. For Finland this event is of national importance, acc6rd5ng t6 the statistics annually it is visited by 70-120 thousand people.

Karelia participated in the exhibition for the third time. Guests of the exhibition could learn aboutour agriculture, look through a catalogue of enterprises, get acquainted with offers in the field of fish farming and rural tourism.

Karelia and Finland support longstanding partnership. Thus, last year we have purchased the largect to year the major parcel of Ayrshire cattle, chickens of new cross for Korm, Inc. Karelia is the major customer of forages and seeding for fishery.

Delegation of our republic comprised representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fish Industry and Ecology, directors of agricultural enterprises, farmers. Members of the delegation were especially impressed with visiting the enterprise Atria which daily processes up to 400 tons of meat and, with only 100 people on the staff, producing 700 descriptions of articles of food.

Within the scope of the event there have been held bilaterial negotiations on joint cooperation between the Minister of Agriculture, Fish Industry and Ecology Grigory Manuilov and his colleague Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland Finland Sirkka-Lijsa Anttila.

There has been reached preliminary agreement on purchase of breeding bulls for livestock breeding farms of the republic. There continue consultations of experts from Valio in the sphere of technologies of improvement of quality of milk produced in Karelia. Due to intensive development of trout-breeding in our republic, when Karelia provides for up to 70% of total need of the Russian Federation, it is planned to carry out a profound studying of influence of trout-breeding farms on adjoining reservoirs and further studying of fish diseases. It is also planned to hold a number of joint seminars.

According to Grigory Manuilov, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland took a keen interest in problems of agriculture, support rendered to the agricultural sector by federal and local governments. As Ms Sirkka-Lijsa Anttila has told, finland is facing a number of problems, and, firt of all, they are related to realisation and decline in milk prurchase prices. As of today, Finnish products are unable to compete milk imported from other countries.

Our meeting was very efficient, we have reached a number of arrangements and obtained practical results, – Grigory Manuylov has noted.