March 19, 2012

Russia lessens 2012 grain purchase prices

Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported Friday (Mar 16) that Russian Agriculture Ministry has reduced the highest price at which it is ready to buy grain during interventions in 2012.

The highest price for soft food wheat of the third class in all regions is set at RUB5,000 (US$171) per tonne, including value-added tax (VAT), and the price of fourth class wheat at RUB4,500 (US$154), VAT inclusive. The prices cover sales of grain from the 2005 harvest. In 2011, the highest price level for both classes was set at RUB6,000 (US$205) per tonne.

"Every year, the grain market experiences a different degree of commodity availability, thus the change," Russian Grain Union's Vice President Alexander Korbut told Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

The ministry started purchasing interventions on the internal grain market on November 29, 2011 and bought 419,310 tonnes of grain for RUB1.92 billion (US$65.7 million) as of March 6.