Export duty on Russian wheat to fall 41.2% on Aug 14 - AgMin

MOSCOW. Aug 9 (Interfax) - The export duty on Russian wheat will fall 41.2% to 257.3 rubles per tonne in the week starting August 14 from 444.4 rubles per tonne during the current seven-day period, the Agriculture Ministry said.

This will be the lowest wheat duty since the duties were introduced in June 2021.

The duty on barley will remain zero and that on corn will again be 344.5 rubles per tonne.

Duty rates are based on indicative prices of $214.8 per tonne for wheat against $216.7 per tonne in the current period, $179.8 per tonne for barley versus $177.9 per tonne, and $203.1 per tonne for corn against $194.8 per tonne.

The duties will be valid until August 30, inclusive.

Russia introduced a grain damper mechanism on June 2, 2021, which provides for floating duties on the export of wheat, corn and barley and the return of funds received from them to subsidize agricultural producers. The duties are calculated weekly from indicators based on the prices of export contracts registered on the Moscow Exchange . Duty rates were calculated in dollars at first, and, since July 2022, in rubles. The duty is 70% of the difference between reference and indicative prices.

The Agriculture Ministry on June 1, 2023, hiked the reference price for calculating the export duty on wheat to 17,000 rubles per tonne from 15,000 rubles per tonne, and the reference price on barley and corn to 15,875 rubles per tonne from 13,875 rubles per tonne. These rose to 18,000 rubles for wheat and 16,875 rubles for barley and corn on June 28, 2024.