Russia is looking for a new way to restrict grain exports at the level of the country’s exportable surplus under "certain market conditions," Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev told the Kommersant newspaper.
A report at Hellenic Shipping News states that in 2010, Russia stunned world markets with a total ban on grain exports following a poor crop. In 2015, it used informal interventions to limit exports, which made it difficult for traders to meet their forward contracts.
Since becoming the world’s largest wheat exporter, the country has used less dramatic instruments such as a grain export tax, which is at zero now but can be raised by the government quickly if needed.
The priority of the agriculture ministry is the needs of the domestic market and food security of the country, Patrushev said in an interview with Kommersant released on Friday.
