The Russian agricultural machinery group Rostselmash is responding to a sharp drop in demand and is sending all employees on furlough in June. The company has lost important markets over the past four years. This is primarily a result of Western sanctions against Russia, which are now set to be intensified. In 2023, Rostselmash had managed to overcome negative effect of Western-imposed sanctions on Russian companies and had supplied the market with even more machines than in 2022.
Expansion of local content in Rostselmash grain harvesters became the EAEU’s first project within a newly introduced mechanism for preferential financial support of industrial cooperation. This mechanism involves subsidising interest rates on loans and credits granted by financial institutions to implement collaborative projects, drawing from the Union’s budget. Western sanctions will possibly lead to the freeze in this funding.
On 22 January, the Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission approved the first to come application. The project implemented by Kazrost Engineering Ltd, a private company, focuses on enhancing the local content in production of operator cabs for Rostselmash combines in Kazakhstan, with the Russian company being the project’s key partner. Moreover, companies from Belarus are contributing by supplying various components necessary for the final production.
Sergei Robchenko, a Rostselmash’s representative in Kazakhstan, clarified that the project centres on the cabs for regionally popular models of grain harvesters, specifically the ACROS 550/595 Plus and VECTOR 410.
Industry experts had underscored that the Kazrost Engineering Ltd’s pilot project will enhance the production and cooperation capabilities of the Union’s companies, promoting mutual investments and elevating both the technological advancement and competitive edge of industrial products in EAEU markets and beyond.
