Export duty on Russian wheat to decline 5% as of Dec 27, valid until January 10 - Agriculture Ministry

MOSCOW. Dec 22 (Interfax) - The export duty on Russian wheat will decline 5% to 3,859.7 rubles per tonne as of December 27 from 4,048.1 rubles per tonne the previous seven-day period, the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement.

The duty on barley will remain at zero for the tenth consecutive week, and the duty on corn will rise to 1,148.6 rubles per tonne from 794.4 rubles per tonne.

The duties are based on indicative prices of $250 per tonne for wheat compared to $250.20 per tonne the previous seven-day period, $170.80 per tonne for barley versus $172.20 per tonne, and $194.50 per tonne for corn against $186.80 per tonne.

The latest duties are valid until January 10, inclusive, because of the upcoming New Year holidays, the Agriculture Ministry said. The duties announced on December 29 will be valid from January 11 to 16, inclusive.

The Russian government on June 2, 2021, introduced 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 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.

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.