19 November 2003 02:35
Russian govt may restrict grain exports - Gordeyev
This agricultural year (which ends on July 1, 2004), Russia has
already exported 3.5 million tonnes, and this figure may rise to 5
MOSCOW. Nov 19 (Interfax) - The Russian government may impose restrictions and raise duties on the export of grain,
Russian Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev said at a conference of the Russian Grain Union in Moscow on Wednesday.
million tonnes before the end of the year, Gordeyev said. "But if we see that the pricing proportions, I am
referring to the prices of grain in Ukraine and the EU, will provoke exports of more than 5 million tonnes, we will
impose restrictions and will raise the duty to restrict export, to prevent the country from being left without resources
and to prevent sharp price growth," he said.
The situation on the Russian grain market is currently being analyzed by a special interdepartmental working group,
Gordeyev said.
said restrictions on the export of grain will not help lower the
prices. "On the contrary, it will worsen the prospects of grain
The government has some 1.6 million tonnes of grain in the state fund, which can be used for lowering internal prices
on grain, Gordeyev said. This grain was purchased during interventions last year.
At the same time, Gordeyev recalled that last year Russia exported almost $2 billion worth of grain, earning a
position on the world grain market.
However, Arkady Zlochevsky, president of the Russian Grain Union,
production and will undermine the grain producers' confidence in the administration," he said.
"If restrictions are indeed imposed, they should be imposed for period of trade interventions [the sale of grain
from the state fund] and not in the duty increases, but in the form of a ban, which will enable exporters not to fulfill
contracts for objective reasons," Zlochevsky said. He added that such bans do not contradict WTO norms.
The Russian grain market may be ready or trade interventions "by February-March 2004," Zlochevsky said.
According to Zlochevsky's forecast, the grain export this year "will hardly exceed 6 million tonnes."
He believes that the recent increase in the grain export "is prompted by expectations of restrictions."
"However, already in October, the export went down considerably and will become unprofitable by the beginning of
2004," he said.
Anatoly Mannelya, the head of the Russian government Economic Situation Center, said Russia's grain resources
this year would reach 80 million tonnes, of which 75 million tonnes would be consumed. "If 6 million tonnes are
exported, it may leave Russia without transition grain reserves by the beginning of the new agricultural year," he
said. [RU EEU EUROPE ASIA EMRG FIN GRA] av tj <>
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