Russian government pushes grain export taxes sharply higher

The Russian government has pushed the export tariff for wheat, corn, and barley significantly higher for the period from December 28 through January 10 as the country goes on a long weekend amid holidays, an official notice from the country's agriculture ministry said Friday.

The wheat export tax was pushed up by RUB827.10/mt to the current 4,160.90/mt, which is equivalent to around $57.58/mt according to the Central Bank's official rate on the date.

This comes despite the seven-day average index published by the Moscow Exchange (MOEX) falling by $1.60/mt to $312.80/mt.

The barley export tariff also moved up by RUB733.50/mt to RUB3,420.40/mt, which accounts for around $47.42/mt.

That comes as the seven days average index also moved lower by $1.60/mt to $280.20/mt.

Finally, the corn export tax again went up by RUB692.60/mt from zero point last week, as the basis index moved up by $3.50/mt to $222/mt.

The changes also come as the national currency has been fluctuating during the week, reaching the lowest level since April 2022, but firming back after. 

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.