Export duty on Russian wheat drops 41.2% as of July 31, barley and corn remain zero - Agriculture Ministry

MOSCOW. July 31 (Interfax) - The export duty on Russian wheat has dropped 41.2% to 906.4 rubles per tonne as of July 31 from 1,540.4 rubles per tonne during the previous duty period, the Agriculture Ministry said.

The duties on barley and corn have remained zero.

Duty rates are based on indicative prices of $220.50 per tonne for wheat against $229.60 per tonne the previous duty period, $177.90 per tonne for barley versus $177.10 per tonne, and $187.40 per tonne for corn against $188 per tonne.

The duties are valid until August 6, 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 from dollars into rubles as of July 2022. The duty totals 70% of the difference between the baseline price and the indicative price.

The baseline price was initially 15,000 rubles per tonne for wheat and 13,875 rubles per tonne for barley and corn, respectively. The government hiked the baseline price to 17,000 rubles per tonne and 15,875 rubles per tonne, respectively, as of June 2023, and then raised the baseline price once again to 18,000 rubles per tonne for wheat and to 16,875 rubles per tonne for barley and corn, respectively, as of June 28, 2024.