OREANDA-NEWS Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed the government to work on the reduction of prices for metal products sold on the domestic market. The order was published by the Kremlin press service on the website of the Russian president, Gazeta.ru says.

Among the first measures which may be taken by the authorities there are optimization of tax burden on Russian metallurgists and coal-makers and change of tariffs on electric power and transport services of Russian Railways for metallurgical companies.

According to Putin's instructions, the ministers have until June 1 to prepare a regulation on development of metallurgy in Russia until 2030, taking into account the restrictive measures and reorientation of export flows.

In April, the head of state set a deadline for updating the Russian metallurgy development strategy until 2030. The document should be prepared by June 1.

Last week Putin said that the country is expected to have a record grain harvest this year. According to him, preliminary, "the grain harvest may reach 130 million tons, including 87 million tons of wheat.