Vlada Viacheslavovna Maslova

This article examines current issues in the economic development of the agri-food sector. The authors examine the development of agriculture and food production. They note that significant limitations currently exist for nearly all factors in production growth. These include imbalances between supply and demand in the machinery, equipment, and technology markets; financial resources, including both borrowed capital and government support; and labor resources. This has resulted in a decline in financial performance and, consequently, a decrease in producer profitability. The authors analyze the volume and structural transformation of government support for agriculture, as well as pricing relations in the agro-industrial complex. They emphasize that, in addition to price regulation and government support, labor productivity significantly impacts the growth of profitability and competitiveness in the industry. In this regard, the article describes labor productivity in agriculture, as well as energy availability and energy supply in agricultural organizations. Increased labor productivity is based on the use of new equipment and technologies, and therefore investment. The authors note that over the past 10 years, the growth rate of fixed capital investment in agriculture has been almost three times lower than the overall economy. They analyze the indicators outlined in the Unified Plan for Achieving National Development Goals for the Agricultural Sector. They conclude that new policy documents, specifically an Agricultural Development Strategy, are needed.

The article is devoted to the issues of ensuring the profitability of Russian agricultural producers, which is the basis for the formation of their competitiveness in domestic and foreign markets. The authors note that in 2025 there was the decrease in the financial results of organizations in the agricultural sector, the decrease in the share of profitable organizations, and the decrease in profitability. At the same time, almost half of commodity producers in the agricultural sector cannot sustainably develop and make investments. One of the reasons for the current situation is the growing price imbalances between agriculture and other agricultural sectors, as well as the consumer market. As a result of the growing costs of resources used by agricultural producers (especially imported ones), there is an annual decrease in the purchasing power of farmers and the investment attractiveness of the agricultural sector. The analysis of the cost structure of agricultural organizations revealed significant structural changes – the significant increase in the cost of material resources. In addition, unit costs have shown significant growth in all cost estimates in recent years. The article proposes organizational and economic measures aimed at increasing the profitability of agricultural producers. The authors emphasize that the main factors for the growth of the competitiveness of the agricultural sector are the formation of a stimulating institutional environment and efficient infrastructure, and productivity growth based on investment and innovation development.

The goal is to develop scientific approaches to assessing transaction costs in the grain sub-complex. Methods - monographic-when analyzing the theoretical aspects of identifying additional sources of costs, economic-statistical-to identify patterns of changes in the level of costs when carrying out transactions along the entire sales chain, abstract-logical – monitoring of operating costs and establishing criteria for the effectiveness of their management, expert – for collecting and evaluating data on costs and problem-oriented analysis of existing interactions in grain subcomplex between entities; conjunctural – for studying the development trend of grain subcomplex and account of external factors that determine the level of transaction costs, for a comprehensive assessment – when considering the indicators of the cost component of the market infrastructure in the interests of achieving measurement accuracy. Results - in the context of digital transformation, the scientific principles of institutional costs in the grain sector are justified. Conclusions - the main problems of grain farming, contributing to the growth of the component of the transactional output, were indicated, their classification was proposed for the possibility of formulating the specifics of the grain direction of the agro-industrial complex of Kazakhstan. The structure is dominated by costs in the form of lost income, the financial condition of commodity producers depends on the supply, price, transaction costs, it is necessary to ensure their optimization. The scientific methodology can be used in the educational process, in the training of students, undergraduates and postgraduates. The practical significance of the study is to ensure the economic efficiency of production and commercial activities of economic entities of the grain sub-complex, planning, accounting, which contributes to increasing the competitiveness of products in the domestic and foreign markets and strengthening the image of the region. The adoption of effective measures is relevant during the expansion of trade borders with foreign countries, globalization of the economy.

The article is devoted to assessing the investment attractiveness of agriculture in Russia and the EAEU member states. The authors consider the existing scientific and practical approaches to determining and evaluating investment attractiveness. It is noted that these approaches practically do not take into account the peculiarities of agriculture, as well as the impact of the development of integration processes on investment activity. The authors consider the main directions of the economic development of the EAEU until 2030, emphasizing the importance of investment cooperation between the countries and increasing their investment attractiveness. The authors propose an algorithm for assessing the investment attractiveness of agriculture in the EAEU member states. The indices of investment potentials (land, labor, production, consumer, financial) and financial, economic and social risks of the EAEU member states has been assessed over the past ten years. The assessment of the investment attractiveness of agriculture in the EAEU member states based on the proposed methodology showed that the leader in the rating is the Republic of Belarus, whose investment potential indicators are at a high level. In 2024, the Russian Federation is in second place, with a high level of consumer and labor potential, as well as a low level of investment risks. The third place is occupied by the Republic of Kazakhstan, which has significant land potential and minimal financial, economic and social risks. The agricultural sector of the Republics of Armenia and Kyrgyzstan has low investment attractiveness. The decomposition by potentials and risks revealed positive trends and problems to increase investment attractiveness and enhance investment activity in the EAEU.

The article is devoted to determining the investment attractiveness of agriculture in the EAEU member states. The authors consider various approaches to the definitions of "investment attractiveness" and "investment climate". The authors have developed methodological approaches to determining the investment attractiveness of agriculture, consisting of assessing the investment potential, including land, labor, production, financial and consumer risks, as well as financial, economic and social risks, with the calculation of the final integral indicator. The testing of methodological approaches for assessing the investment attractiveness of the EAEU member states has shown that the Republic of Belarus is the leader, with the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan taking the second and third places. The authors propose the directions for increasing investment activity and reducing investment risks.

The article is devoted to the current issues of improving the economic mechanism in the agro-industrial complex. Currently, the agro-industrial complex is tasked with increasing the volume of production and export of agricultural products. In order to ensure progressive economic growth and the implementation of target settings, it is necessary to improve the current economic mechanism in the agro-industrial complex. The economic mechanism in the agro-industrial complex is characterized by several subsystems: price, budget and tax, credit, insurance, which in turn are described by a set of structural characteristics. The authors note that a number of negative factors have formed in the industry that significantly worsen its functioning, in particular: sanctions pressure, low dynamics of investment activity, significant budget constraints, high key rate of the Bank of Russia, this negatively affects the efficiency of the current economic mechanism. A balanced system of prices and price relations in the economic mechanism is the basis for its sustainable functioning. Currently, the agro-industrial complex is experiencing an annual increase in price imbalances between agriculture and other industries. In terms of state support, it is noted that direct budget transfers to farmers make up less than a third of the total budget funds within the State Program. In the economic mechanism of the agro-industrial complex, lending plays one of the key roles. The authors analyze the main factors influencing lending processes in modern conditions. It is emphasized that significant regional differentiation has formed in the development of lending and investment processes. Due to the high key rate of the Bank of Russia and current budget constraints, changes have been made to the preferential mechanism of agricultural lending that worsen the economic availability of credit resources. As a result, the authors propose a system of measures to improve the economic mechanism in the agro-industrial complex, in terms of prices and price relations, subsidies, lending, and agricultural insurance.

Methodological approaches to the assessment of the investment attractiveness of the agriculture in the EAEU member states are considered. Comprehensive definition of its various components is presented in the context of the EAEU member states. Algorithm for assessing the investment attractiveness of agriculture in the Eurasian Union countries is proposed.

Currently, the Russian agricultural sector aims to simultaneously achieve two priority goals: to ensure import substitution (or the country’s food security, taking into account rational consumption standards) and to increase exports of agricultural products and food. In this regard, the present study develops proposals for improving agricultural policy and linking these two tasks. The study analysed existing normative legal documents in the field of agricultural policy management and agricultural exports development, relevant foreign experience, as well as Russian and international statistics. It was revealed that an increase in agricultural food production and in the mass of commodities led to export growth. As a result, the negative balance of foreign trade in food decreased, and Russia became a net exporter in 2020-2021. The structure of agri-food exports was examined in order to identify the export potential. Approximately 1/3 of exported goods belong to the group of low-processed products, while only 15 % are highly processed products, which are characterised by a significant negative balance. Competitiveness of products, which plays the most important role in increasing exports, requires the development and implementation of domestic advanced scientific and technological solutions. According to the competitiveness assessment, Russia is a competitive supplier of a wide range of agri-food products, since the prices offered by Russian farmers and exporters are lower or comparable to the prices of major global exporters. Since export growth depends on an increase in agricultural food production, production growth opportunities were considered. The analysis of the consumer purchasing power and food consumption demonstrated their significant differentiation, both by decile groups and by place of residence. The presented findings can be used to improve agricultural policy and adjust state support for the agricultural industry aimed at its effective development.