Agriculture Ministry not to cancel floating grain export duty

MOSCOW, Aug 17 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Agriculture Ministry has no plans to cancel the floating grain export duties as they have proven their efficiency, a ministry spokesperson told PRIME on Wednesday.

Previously, the country’s association of farmers and agricultural cooperatives AKKOR asked President Vladimir Putin to cancel the export duties on grain and raise grain purchases for the state intervention fund as the grain internal prices, including for wheat had plummeted.

“Cancellation of the floating export duties that demonstrate their efficiency is not being considered. At the same time, the Agriculture Ministry is constantly tracking the situation on the market, and adjusts the mechanism as necessary,” the spokesperson said.

In late June, the ministry adjusted the calculation mechanism of the duties and switched them into rubles, which decreased the impact of international prices and changes in currency exchange rates on the internal grain prices. The base price for wheat is 15,000 rubles per tonne, and for barley and corn is 13,875 rubles per tonne, and duties will fall to zero if the export prices for wheat fall to the base level, the person added.

(61.4247 rubles – U.S. $1)

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