Russian wheat exports up 5.1% to 6.3 mln tonnes from July 1 to Sept 14 - Russian Agriculture Ministry
MOSCOW. Sept 18 (Interfax) - Russia's wheat exports grew 5.1% to 6.316 million tonnes from July 1 to September 14, the Russian Agriculture Ministry said in a report.
However, on the whole, the pace of grain exports in the period from July 1 to September 14, 2016 was still slower than that in the same period the year before. A total of 7.453 million tonnes of grain were exported between July 1 and September 14, 2016, as compared with 7.659 million tonnes over the same period last year - a 2.7% decline.
In particular, barley exports decreased to 1.009 million tonnes from 1.352 million tonnes, reported in the period from July 1 to September 14, 2015, corn exports declined to 94,000 tonnes from 253,000 tonnes, and the export of other grain crops declined to 33,000 tonnes from 46,000 tonnes, respectively.
The Agriculture Ministry's forecast indicates that grain exports may rise to 40 million tonnes this agricultural year (from July 2016 to June 2017), as compared with 33.9 million tonnes the previous agricultural year, and wheat exports may also increase to 30 million tonnes (24.6 million tonnes).
It was reported that the Agriculture Ministry had submitted a proposal to the government to reduce the wheat export duty to zero until July 1, 2018. The duty formula is set at half the customs price minus 6,500 rubles per tonne but not less than ten rubles per tonne.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in Astrakhan in early September that the Russian government had decided to set zero export duty on wheat exports.
"As a result the grain market will receive additional stimulus for development and greater predictability, as well as the risks of losses due to fluctuations of currency exchange rates will also be prevented," he said.
