November 30, 2010

Russia's grain export ban stocks 12 million tonnes

Russia's grain export ban has aided the country in storing nearly 12 million tonnes of grain, which would have been exported by the start of December had not the ban been imposed, the deputy prime minister said Monday (Nov 29).

Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov said the decision to impose the ban had been right because this year's harvest of only 60.3 million tonnes would have resulted in serious grain shortages and high prices if the grain was exported.

Zubkov said current grain stocks in the country were sufficient, but they were distributed around the country irregularly so that in the southern regions there was an excess to requirement of 10 million tonnes, with only 400,000 tonnes transported in October to the regions that were experiencing shortages.

He said that it was essential to ensure free movement of grain within the country. The situation is exacerbated by the outbreak of African swine fever in the south of Russia. As a result, only grain that has been thermally treated is allowed to be transferred out of the affected regions.