Export duty on Russian wheat declines 3.2% as of May 8, barley and corn remains zero - Agriculture Ministry

MOSCOW. May 8 (Interfax) - The export duty on Russian wheat has declined 3.2% to 3,277.7 rubles per tonne as of May 8 from 3,386 rubles per tonne during the previous duty period, the Agriculture Ministry said.

The duty on barley has dropped to zero from 153.6 rubles per tonne, and the duty on corn remains zero.

Duty rates are based on indicative prices of $234.80 per tonne for wheat against $235 per tonne the previous duty period, $169.30 per tonne for barley versus $173.20 per tonne, and $168.10 per tonne for corn against $167 per tonne.

The Agriculture Ministry said that the duty rates are valid until May 14, inclusive, and that the duties announced on May 8 are valid from May 15 to 21, inclusive.

The Russian government on June 2, 2021, implemented a grain damper mechanism that stipulates floating duties on exports of wheat, corn, and barley, as well as returning the funds received from the duties in order to subsidize agricultural producers. The duties are calculated weekly on the basis of price indicators based on the value of export contracts registered on the Moscow Exchange .

The government on June 30, 2022, adopted a resolution to convert the duties into rubles as of July 2022. The duty totals 70% of the difference between the baseline price and the indicative price.

The Agriculture Ministry on June 1, 2023, hiked the baseline price for calculating the export duty on wheat, the so-called cut-off price, to 17,000 rubles per tonne from 15,000 rubles per tonne, and raised the baseline price on barley and corn to 15,875 rubles per tonne from 13,875 rubles per tonne.