Agroindustrial sector

    Despite a number of external factors preventing the development of agriculture (zone of risk agriculture, high level of urbanization in the region, etc.) the agroindustrial sector holds an important position in the economy of the Chelyabinsk Region - its share in the Gross Regional Product totaled 8.3% in 2006.

    The greater part of the agricultural output is produced by the crop growing sector - 51.8%, cereal crop growing prevails. In 2006 cereal crop production made 2114.7 thousand tons per year (weight after reprocessing), meat - 185.9 thousand tons (live weight), milk - 568.4 thousand tons, eggs -1234.0 mln pieces. The Chelyabinsk Region has a large crop area which totaled 1852.1 thousand ha in 2006.

    At the beginning of 2007 the population in the rural area was 652.4 thousand people or 18.5% of the total population of the region.

    Investment in agriculture amounted to over 2.5 billion rubles. Special attention is paid to strengthening the material and technical base by means of equipment leasing, industrial reconstruction, introduction of up-to-date technologies. In 2006 thanks to leasing 504 items of agricultural machinery were purchased for 369 million rubles.