A ban on Russian grain exports ordered by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin came into force yesterday, with the government battling to keep down prices of basic foodstuffs amid a record drought.
According to a government decree signed by Putin on Aug. 5, the ban will extend from yesterday up until Dec. 31, although the powerful prime minister has indicated it may even be extended beyond that date if the harvest is bad.
Russia, the world’s No. 3 wheat exporter last year, has already warned that its grain harvest this year will be between only 60 million tonnes and 65 million tonnes, compared with 97 million tonnes last year.
The drought amid the worst ever heatwave in Russia’s history has ruined one quarter of the country’s crops, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said.
The export ban is aimed at keeping the Russian domestic market well supplied with grain to prevent sharp rises in prices. Russia’s leaders, acutely nervous of social unrest, will be keen to avoid any discontent over food prices.
“We must not allow an increase in domestic prices and must preserve the headcount of our cattle,” Putin said bluntly as he announced the ban.
Last year, Russia exported 21.4 million tonnes of grain and had even embarked on a major new campaign to boost its international market share, an ambition that now must be set aside for some time.
Russia requires 78 million tonnes of grain domestically and can cover the shortfall with 9.5 million tonnes from a state fund and 21 million tonnes left over from last year’s harvest, the government has said.
Medvedev acknowledged last week that both market participants and ordinary people were worried about “how this extraordinarily hard summer would affect the prices of the most basic foodstuffs.”
He vowed the authorities would not allow grain prices to rise and would keep a close eye on costs for food products, such as flour, bread, meat and milk.
The export ban from such a key global player stung world wheat markets, sending prices to two-year highs and sparking worries of a crisis in global food supplies.
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