November 15, 2007

Russia plans further limits on grain export in January
 

The Russian government plans to introduce further limitations on the export of grain in January 2006, agriculture minister Alexey Gordeyev said Wednesday (November 14, 2007) as quoted by the agriculture ministry's press service.

Gordeyev said the measure was necessary because world grain prices remained high, grain export from Russia was continuing at a high pace and the government could not allow a deficit on the domestic grain market.

The Russian government imposed as of November 12 a 10 percent export duty on wheat and 30 percent export duty on barley.

Gordeyev said: "For two weeks we'll monitor the market to see how the new export duties will affect the situation and then by a simple arithmetical method we'll be able to establish the timetable for further export limitations. Presumably it will be January."

Gordeyev said the government saw a grain export of 12-14 million  tonnes in the current marketing year as normal. Any excess of that volume would make further limitations necessary.

Gordeyev said that all decisions by the government would be transparent and made in good time so as not to damage exporters.