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Aug 13, 2015

Russian Bakers Want Change to Wheat Duty That Tries to Help Them

Bloomberg is reporting that . . . .

Russia should change a levy on wheat exports that led to a slump in shipments last month, according to the local bakers and pig farmers the policy is trying to help.

Sales abroad by Russia, the third-largest wheat exporter, fell 53 percent in July from a year earlier to the lowest level for that month since 2009, according to figures from grain carrier ZAO Rusagrotrans and the government. The drop followed the enforcement of the export duty to shield bakers and farmers of livestock from rising prices amid double-digit food inflation.

“We support regulating exports,” said Valery Cheshinsky, president of the Russian Union of Bread Baking Industry. “But we don’t wish harm to anyone.”

The bakers’ lobby, whose members produce more than half of Russia’s bread, is joining the National Pig Farmers’ Union in supporting calls for changes to the levy, with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev seeking proposals on the issue by Sept. 10. Concerns include the possibility that Russian wheat farmers will sow less of the grain if exports continue to decline.

The tax should be a certain percentage of the customs value of shipments or a fixed amount, replacing the current more complex formula, according to Cheshinsky. That would make the situation more predictable for exporters and allow flour millers to build reserves at the start of each season when prices are typically lower, he said.

Full story is at https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-13/russian-bakers-want-change-to-wheat-duty-that-tries-to-help-them