Russia mulls limiting grain exports from April

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Russian government is considering imposing prohibitive grain export duties from April to curb surging grain exports, Russian Grain Union President Arkady Zlochevsky said on Tuesday, January 31, according to RIA Novosti.

The duty will come into effect if Russian grain exports reach 25 million tons, Zlochevsky said on the sidelines of an international conference of agricultural producers and suppliers, adding that grain exports have now topped 20 million tons.

“The grain exports showed surprising dynamics in January – the export ‘sweeper’ intensified unexpectedly for this period. If this activity persists, we’ll take more than 25 million tons out of Russia,” he said.

In mid-2011, the Russian government announced intention to limit grain exports with export duties, if exports reached 24-25 million tons out of the 93.8 million Russia harvested last year.

“By April 1, 25 million tons level in grain exports will be reached at current export rates,” he said.

Russia banned wheat, barley and rye exports in August 2010 to ward off food price hikes after an extreme heatwave scorched more than one-third of the country's grain crop. It lifted the ban in July 2011.

Russia is expected to harvest at least 90 million tons of grain in 2012.