Russia raises wheat, barley export taxes, cuts corn to zero

Russia has increased its wheat and barley export taxes for the December 21-27 period, while the corn tax was cut back to zero, an official notice from the country's agriculture ministry said Friday.

The export tariff for wheat was revised up by RUB190.40/mt to RUB3,333.80/mt, equating to $51.40/mt, as the seven-day average index published by the Moscow Exchange (MOEX) firmed by just $1/mt to $314.40/mt.

Physical market prices continued to soften during the week, with selling ideas on a FOB Novorossiysk, Taman, Tuapse, Kavkaz (NTTK) basis heard in the price range of $310-311/mt for December-January and at $314/mt for February dates.

The barley tax gained RUB83.80/mt to RUB2,686.90/mt, with the US dollar equivalent almost unchanged at $41.40/mt according to the official exchange rate, despite the weekly average index losing $1.10/mt and reported at $281.80/mt.

Finally, the corn export tariff was cut back to zero from last week’s RUB78.20/mt, with the average index reported at $218.50/mt, down $6.40/mt.

In order to maintain the competitiveness of exporters in the global market, the Russian government shifted the tax formula used to regulate exports to a calculation based on the national currency at the beginning of the 2022/23 marketing year.