New Food Aid Request Made by Russia

September 29, 1999

Russia has submitted an official request for additional food assistance. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman says the request is being reviewed. The USDA announcement did not specify how much aid was requested, but REUTERS reports from Moscow that the total is a bit more than 5 million tons.

Glickman says a team of USDA and State Department official recently went to Russia to evaluate the harvest, grain in storage and livestock situation. The group's report is being compiled, and "we will obviously review the Russian request in relation to that needs assessment," Glickman says.

He also addressed the issue of problems the aid program encountered earlier from allegations the aid was not getting to the people who needed it. "We have followed most commodities from the time they arrive in Russia to the point of distribution," says Glickman. "Our monitoring system and the US.-Russian Joint Working Group also are intended to assure both countries that proceeds form the sales of monetized commodities are properly deposited into the Russian pension fund. Currently, these deposits are being made on the agreed schedule."

REUTERS reports that the request is for 1 million tons of wheat, 1.5 million tons of feed wheat, 1.5 million tons of corn, 1 million tons of soybeans and soymeal and 15,000 tons of corn and vegetable seeds. The report was based on an unnamed U.S. government source in Moscow.