February 3, 2012

Russia's grain exports at 1.4 million tonnes in January

Russia's grain exports may reach about 1.4 million tonnes in January, which is slightly below expectations.

"The January figure is likely to be around 1.4 million tonnes versus our expectation of 1.5 to two million," Andrei Sizov Sr, president and CEO of SovEcon agricultural analysts, said.

Russian exports reached 19.5 million tonnes for the season to mid-January, a record at that juncture, after barely slackening in December, when three million tonnes were loaded for export.

The government in June announced it would regulate exports via duties in the future as it prepared to lift a near-total ban on grain exports imposed in the wake of a catastrophic drought in the summer of 2010.

First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov will make an announcement on Friday on how much grain the country can export in the 2011-12 season before imposing a possible export duty, a government source told Reuters on Thursday.

Russia has helped drive up world wheat prices in the past week, first because of speculation about a duty that would limit exports and then because of concerns that hard frosts could damage Black Sea crops.