January 7, 2011

Estonia's grain prices set to thrive on global market

The country's grain price is on the growth path on the world market, Estonia's Minister of Agriculture Helir Valdor Seeder said Thursday (Jan 6).

Seeder said that last year many areas of the world saw crop failure and it was not Russia alone that had restricted the export of grain. Similar measures have been taken in Europe, in Kazakhstan and Ukraine, he said.

Seeder said that in the longer outlook mainly price fluctuations and instability on the markets was posing a problem. This has to be countered by the EU's common agriculture policy, which is aimed first and foremost at stabilising markets, he said.

"If the New Year is good, prices will start falling. But should there be a second year of crop failure, there's no doubt that prices will remain high," said Seeder. The minister refused to predict by how much the price of bread could move higher in Estonia during the next half-year. He added that there should be no sudden price increase, though.