June 28, 2012

Russia's port Novorossiisk to slash grain-handling tax by 5%

In order to bolster grain exports after winterkill and spring drought, Russian port Novorossiisk plans to cut grain-handling tariff by as much as 5% or RUB30 (US$0.91) per tonne from July 1.

"Our team has managed to reduce the tariff thanks to optimisation of production processes," Rado Antolovich, acting general director of the port, was quoted as saying in the statement on Wednesday (June 27).

"We hope that this measure will increase the competitiveness of Russian grain and strengthen its position on foreign markets," he added.

The tariff can be decreased by up to RUB30 (US$0.91), depending on the size of exporter, falling to RUB600 (US$18.23) per tonne, a source in the company, which operates the Black Sea port, told Reuters.

US CBOT July wheat hit an eight-month high on Tuesday (June 26), closing up US$0.0475 at US$7.29 per bushel after the Russian government cut the size of the crop in the No. three biggest wheat exporter.

Russia's Agriculture Ministry and a leading analyst cut their 2012-13 grain crop and export forecasts on Monday (June 25) after winterkill and spring drought caused yields to fall. The ministry cut its 2012-13 wheat crop forecast to 46-49 million tonnes from 57 million tonnes expected earlier, a government source said.