OREANDA-NEWS. May 28, 2013. The Commission of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) found that the Department of the Voronezh Region for Agrarian Policy unlawfully refused to subsidize “Kurinoe Tsarstvo” OJSC.

The antimonopoly case was initiated upon a petition of “Kurinoe Tsarstvo” OJSC that the Department of the Voronezh Region for Agrarian Policy had refused to grant a subsidy to a separate unit – “Ramonsky” for supporting pig breeding, poultry and egg promotion as part of a regional target programme for “Developing Agriculture in the Voronezh region in 2008–2011”.

Investigating the case, it was established that “Kurinoe Tsarstvo” OJSC repeatedly applied to the Department of the Voronezh Region for Agrarian Policy for a subsidy but every time applications were refused.

The Department of the Voronezh Region for Agrarian Policy explained their refusals to grant subsidies that the head office of the company was not registered in the Voronezh region and the production volume did not meet the criteria, etc. However, in the course of the investigation, it was established that the company met all conditions necessary to obtain the subsidy, as specified by the regulations, and the sum allocated for supporting agricultural producers was distributed between competitors of “Kurinoe Tsarstvo” OJSC.

“By the refusal to grant the subsidy the Department of the Voronezh Region for Agrarian Policy violated not only the antimonopoly law but also one of the fundamental principles of the state agrarian policy – the unity of the market of agricultural products and ensuring equal conditions for competition on the market”, pointed out the Head of FAS Department for Control over Chemical Industry and Agro-Industry, Anna Mirochinenko.