.Putin bans Russia grain exports due to drought
MOSCOW (AFP) – Russia, the world's third wheat exporter, Thursday banned grain exports for the next four-and-a-half months due to a record drought that has destroyed millions of hectares (acres) of its land.
Wheat futures shot up to new two-year highs on commodities markets after the sudden announcement from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin raised concerns about global grain supplies.
"In connection with the unusually high temperatures and the drought, I consider it right to impose a temporary ban on the export from Russia of grain and other products produced from grain," Putin told a government meeting.
Russia earlier this week slashed its 2010 grain harvest forecast to 70-75 million tonnes, compared with a harvest of 97 million tonnes in 2009, owing to the worst drought for decades.
Last year, Russia exported 21.4 million tonnes of grain and observers had already warned that could be sharply lower this year owing to the drought.
The prime minister's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the export ban would come into force August 15 and remain in place until December 31.
"We must not allow an increase in domestic prices and must preserve the headcount of our cattle," Putin said in comments broadcast on state television.
Putin signed a decree imposing the ban which also stated that Russia would ask fellow members of a regional customs union -- Belarus and Kazhakhstan -- to make a similar move. Kazakhstan is also a major world grain exporter.
"There can only be one comment -- shock," said Vladimir Petrichenko, director of the Prozerno agricultural analytical firm.
"We will only be able to return to the global markets with a tarnished reputation, with losses," he told Interfax.
Russia's policy after December 31 would be determined by the results of the harvest, Putin said. Russia has seen 20 percent of its arable land (10 million hectares, 24.7 million acres) destroyed in the heatwave.
The severity of the drought has seen states of emergency declared in 27 regions and dealt a major blow to Russia's ambitions of ramping up its global market share over the next years.
Putin also announced that agriculture producers who had suffered as a result of the drought would receive financial aid totalling 35 billion rubles (1.17 billion dollars).
Concerns about Russia -- coupled with a drought that has also hit Ukraine and Kazakhstan as well as a low harvest in Canada -- had already led to a spike in global wheat prices to two-year highs.
On Euronext, the November milling wheat future jumped after Putin's announcement to 226 euros per metric tonne, up 8.25 percent on the day.
In Chicago, September wheat shot up to 7.83 dollars a bushel from 7.26 dollars while the December contract jumped to 8.09 dollars from 7.55 dollars.
Dmitry Rylko, director of the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies, described Putin's decision as one that would be "extraordinarily painful for market participants," Interfax reported.
But he said Russia's trade partners "will not be left without grain. There is enough grain on the global markets. This year there has been a good harvest in the United States and Western Europe, for example."
Russia's average annual domestic consumption of grain is estimated at around 77 million tonnes and Putin said the country currently has reserves of 9.5 million tonnes.
Russia has been planning to boost its market share significantly over the next years by modernising infrastructure, in particular storage silos, and exploiting land that was left fallow under the Soviet Union.
It had been aiming to more than double exports to 40-50 million tonnes a year by increasing supplies to grain-hungry consumers like Egypt.
Deputy Agriculture Minister Alexander Belyayev had Tuesday moved to calm markets by saying that "for the moment" Russia did not plan to impose export restrictions. "Exports are very easy to lose and very hard to win," he noted.
Yahoo
What an idiot, if the price goes up world wide, people will smuggle the grain to the highest bidder and there will be less grain to go around Moscow.
Funny how all these communist think alike
Wheat futures shot up to new two-year highs on commodities markets after the sudden announcement from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin raised concerns about global grain supplies.
"In connection with the unusually high temperatures and the drought, I consider it right to impose a temporary ban on the export from Russia of grain and other products produced from grain," Putin told a government meeting.
Russia earlier this week slashed its 2010 grain harvest forecast to 70-75 million tonnes, compared with a harvest of 97 million tonnes in 2009, owing to the worst drought for decades.
Last year, Russia exported 21.4 million tonnes of grain and observers had already warned that could be sharply lower this year owing to the drought.
The prime minister's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the export ban would come into force August 15 and remain in place until December 31.
"We must not allow an increase in domestic prices and must preserve the headcount of our cattle," Putin said in comments broadcast on state television.
Putin signed a decree imposing the ban which also stated that Russia would ask fellow members of a regional customs union -- Belarus and Kazhakhstan -- to make a similar move. Kazakhstan is also a major world grain exporter.
"There can only be one comment -- shock," said Vladimir Petrichenko, director of the Prozerno agricultural analytical firm.
"We will only be able to return to the global markets with a tarnished reputation, with losses," he told Interfax.
Russia's policy after December 31 would be determined by the results of the harvest, Putin said. Russia has seen 20 percent of its arable land (10 million hectares, 24.7 million acres) destroyed in the heatwave.
The severity of the drought has seen states of emergency declared in 27 regions and dealt a major blow to Russia's ambitions of ramping up its global market share over the next years.
Putin also announced that agriculture producers who had suffered as a result of the drought would receive financial aid totalling 35 billion rubles (1.17 billion dollars).
Concerns about Russia -- coupled with a drought that has also hit Ukraine and Kazakhstan as well as a low harvest in Canada -- had already led to a spike in global wheat prices to two-year highs.
On Euronext, the November milling wheat future jumped after Putin's announcement to 226 euros per metric tonne, up 8.25 percent on the day.
In Chicago, September wheat shot up to 7.83 dollars a bushel from 7.26 dollars while the December contract jumped to 8.09 dollars from 7.55 dollars.
Dmitry Rylko, director of the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies, described Putin's decision as one that would be "extraordinarily painful for market participants," Interfax reported.
But he said Russia's trade partners "will not be left without grain. There is enough grain on the global markets. This year there has been a good harvest in the United States and Western Europe, for example."
Russia's average annual domestic consumption of grain is estimated at around 77 million tonnes and Putin said the country currently has reserves of 9.5 million tonnes.
Russia has been planning to boost its market share significantly over the next years by modernising infrastructure, in particular storage silos, and exploiting land that was left fallow under the Soviet Union.
It had been aiming to more than double exports to 40-50 million tonnes a year by increasing supplies to grain-hungry consumers like Egypt.
Deputy Agriculture Minister Alexander Belyayev had Tuesday moved to calm markets by saying that "for the moment" Russia did not plan to impose export restrictions. "Exports are very easy to lose and very hard to win," he noted.
Yahoo
What an idiot, if the price goes up world wide, people will smuggle the grain to the highest bidder and there will be less grain to go around Moscow.
Funny how all these communist think alike
posted by madtom at 8:36 PM
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