The proposal to increase the tax on agricultural machinery raises concerns in the agricultural sector of Russia.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia is considering a proposal to increase the duty on agricultural machinery by 5-10 times, which could potentially result in the price increase of imported tractors and combines ranging from 5 to 10 million rubles (approximately from $54,100 to $108,200) per unit, according to information published in the newspaper "Kommersant". Representatives of the agricultural sector and agricultural machinery dealers have appealed to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture to abandon this initiative, pointing out that it could lead to an increase in food prices and have a negative impact on domestic equipment manufacturers.

In letters sent to the authorities, farmers warn of a possible increase in the share of the duty in the cost of machinery from 10% to 40%, as well as a potential increase in the cost of agricultural products by 5-7% in crop production and by 2-5% in livestock farming. The increase in the duty threatens the exit of some dealers from the market and the loss of technical expertise, while the demand for imported machinery remains high.

On the other hand, industry representatives and "Rosspetsmash" suggest not applying the duty increase to segments where domestic machinery is not produced in sufficient quantities. These measures are seen as a way to protect against aggressive imports and stimulate the development of engineering. However, experts and farmers have doubts about the effectiveness of this approach and emphasize the need to support the production of components for agricultural machinery in Russia.

The funds raised from the duty increase are planned to be allocated to finance a program supporting domestic machinery, but there are concerns that this may not offset the potential reduction in demand and may not increase the expected revenues from the duty.