Russian Agriculture Minister Alexey Gordeev stated yesterday that his ministry is prepared to extend high wheat and barley duties beyond April 30 to July 1.
Photo: Konstantin Vorobiev
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Grain Duties May Last until July
The Agriculture Ministry wants to extend the duties on Russian wheat and barley exports until July to protect the Russian market from high world prices. The duty on those grains was raised from 10 percent to 40 percent of the customs value, and no less than €105 per ton, on January 29. That change was to last until April 30. Kazakhstan, which exported about 1 million tons of grain a month last year, imposed a similarly prohibitive duty on its grain exports shortly after Russia. World grain prices are undergoing a period of instability now.
The Kazakh duty caused some trepidation in Russia, since Russian grain suppliers were importing Kazakh grain to meet their contract obligations. The combined effects of the two country's prohibitive measures may be the reverse of what was hoped for. A grain shortage on world markets would drive prices up even higher, and make Russian grain exports profitable even with the 40-percent duty.
The Japanese Agriculture Ministry has announced that it is suspending a tender for grain purchases, apparently with the intention of waiting out the price fluctuations. Some experts are predicting sharp rises in all food prices this year. Food prices rose by 5 percent monthly last year and may rise by 6 percent monthly this year.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Feb. 28, 2008
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