February 1, 2012

Russia plans to limit grain exports in April

Russia plans to tax heavily on grain exports to curb current surging grain exports starting April, said Russian Grain Union President Arkady Zlochevsky on Tuesday (Jan 31).

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

"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 tonnes out of Russia," he said.

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

"By April 1, 25 million tonnes in grain exports will reach at current export rates," he said.

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

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