Russia’s 2015-16 grain exports down

Moscow - A decline in Russia’s grain exports has accelerated since the start of the current 2015/16 marketing year due to a delayed harvest and a new export tax, SovEcon agriculture consultancy said. Russia, a major wheat exporter to North Africa and the Middle East, has experienced a lagging grain crop this year due to rains in June and July. For the period from July 1 until August 9, its grain exports fell 46.3 percent year-on-year compared with a decline of 40 percent as of August 5, customs data showed. The country exported 2.6 million tonnes of grains as of August 9, down from 4.9 million tonnes for the same period a year earlier. Russia’s wheat shipments are down 50 percent at 1.7 million tonnes so far this year, hit by the export tax launched on July 1, SovEcon said in a note.

Officials are considering whether to change the tax, and hopes that it may be reduced are delaying exports further, the consultancy said. The Agriculture Ministry may upgrade its forecast for Russia’s 2015 grain crop to 102-103 million tonnes from its current projection of 100 million tonnes if the weather becomes more favourable, it said last week. As of August 13, Russian farmers had harvested 55.5 million tonnes of grains by bunker weight, before drying and cleaning, from 40 percent of the total area, down from 61 million tonnes a year earlier. Last year, the country harvested the second-largest grain crop in its post-Soviet history of 105 million tonnes.