August 4, 2008

Russia's plans to re-nationalize up to half the country's grain exports has drawn criticism in an internal US government report, officials said.

The report said Moscow's move to take control of grain commodities would be a "giant step back," the Financial Times reported Friday (Aug 1, 2008).

Diplomats said they fear the move is part of a larger plan for the Russian government to take control of other commodities, including oil, natural gas and metals.

The move would be a reversal of what till now has been one of Russia's privatization success stories, the report said.

Russia, the fifth-largest grain exporting country, exported US$3.5 billion in grains in 2007. The figure is expected to double in the next few years.

The current plan is for the Russian Agency for the Regulation of Food Markets to become a government trader that controls up to half the country's exports within three years, the Times reported.