Russia is considering imposing a temporary ban on grain exports if stocks reach a critical level

Russia is considering imposing a temporary ban on the export of wheat, barley, corn and rye if their stocks reach the critical level of 10 million tons, which, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, will be enough for about 1.5 months. This was reported by the Russian newspaper Izvestia, citing the minutes of the working group on non-tariff measures of regulation in foreign trade of the Subcommittee on Customs, Tariffs and Non-Tariff Regulation.

“The subcommittee reviewed [the initiative] and decided to instruct the Ministry of Agriculture to monitor the stocks and, if they fall to 10 million tons, to send relevant materials to the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to consider imposing a ban,” the Ministry of Agriculture told the publication.

One of Izvestia’s interlocutors in the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market said that temporary export restrictions have proven to be a good tool for keeping prices down. According to him, this has already had an effect on the situation on the gasoline and diesel markets. At the same time, embargoes “may be applied in the future in various industries,” he added.

“However, these are temporary, firefighting measures. They cannot be kept in place for a long time, because the oversaturation of the Russian domestic market threatens to make prices uninteresting for producers, resulting in a shortage as suppliers begin to hold onto goods until the embargo is lifted and prices are returned,” the committee explained.

Arkady Zlochevsky, head of the Russian Grain Union, suggested that the idea of a temporary export ban may be related to the rapid pace of grain sales from Russia abroad in recent years.

“There is no deficit and there cannot be. It’s just that grain has been actively exported to foreign markets lately. Apparently, some officials have concerns that Russia may face a shortage of grain,” he explained.

Tags: Russia, corn, grain, barley, wheat, rye, restrictions