Russia will export over 12 mln tonnes of grain by year-end - ministry
MOSCOW. Nov 8 (Interfax) - Russia will have exported more than 12 million tonnes of grain by the time this year ends, Agriculture Ministry sources told Interfax, citing sector expert estimates.
Federal Customs Service (FCS) figures indicate that there was 9.763 million tonnes exported in the period July 1 to October 24, down from the 11.873 million tonnes shipped abroad in the same period of last year.
There was 1.788 million tonnes of grain exported in the period October 1-24, including 1.196 million tonnes of wheat, 277,200 tonnes of barley, 257,100 tonnes of corn, and 57,800 tonnes of other grain.
The ministry sources said that experts estimate that November will see the exporting of as much as 1.5 million tonnes and December up to 1 million tonnes.
The slowing of the export rate, the sources said, is attributable to export prices at Black Sea ports being lower than the prices offered by Russian producers. Only shipments on "small water" are actively underway, also to Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia.
The average purchase price for class-3 wheat (on CPT terms) as of October 15 was 8,853 rubles per tonne in the Central Federal District, which was 5.74% higher than on the first of the month. It was 9,430 rubles (up 2.31%) in the Southern district, 9,152 rubles (up 6.29%) in the Northern Caucasus district, and 8,198 rubles (up 2.38%) in the Volga district.
The Agriculture Ministry has estimated Russia's export potential this agricultural year of July 2012 to June 2013 at 10 million tonnes. Agriculture Minister Nikolai Fyodorov reiterated recently that restricting grain exports was not justified.
