23 June 2003 19:21
Government increases rice import duty to aid Russian farmers
Moscow, 23 June: Russia will impose a minimum import duty for rice at 0.03 euros per kilogram in line with a
government ruling signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, the government press service said on Monday [23 June].
The step is designed to reduce rice imports and help domestic rice growers, as it means a hike in the duty.
Currently there is no minimum duty set for rice, and the duty is set at 10 per cent of the rice value. The alteration
in the duty will be effective for a period of nine months.
Last year, Russia produced 483,000 tonnes of rice, slightly down from 497,000 t in 2001. The production is just
slightly greater than the imported total, which stood at around 400,000 t in recent years. Rice is imported mainly from
East Asia.
The duty will take effect one month after publication in the official Rossiyskaya Gazeta daily.
[Prime-TASS news agency] |
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