The Ministry of Agriculture is ready to consider adjusting export duties on grain to ease the financial burden on producers.

The Ministry of Agriculture (Ministry of Agriculture) does not intend to cancel export duties on grain, but it is ready to consider the possibility of adjusting them depending on the current situation to ease the financial burden on producers. This was stated by Minister Dmitry Patrushev at a meeting of the Committee on Agricultural Issues in the State Duma. Patrushev emphasized that the specific parameters of the adjustment have not yet been determined, but work is underway to reduce the financial burden on grain producers. Starting from March 20, export duty rates on wheat, barley, and corn from Russia will be reduced. The new rates will be 3,143 rubles per ton of wheat, 408 rubles per ton of barley, and 71.2 rubles per ton of corn. Calculations were based on indicative prices. Since June 2023, the base price for calculating export duties on grain crops has been increased. However, Vladimir Petrichenko, the general director of the analytical company "ProZerno," believes that the Ministry of Agriculture should continue to raise the base price for duty calculation. He also notes that the heaviest duty for farmers is the duty on wheat. In February of this year, the Association of Peasant (Farm) Farms and Agricultural Cooperatives (AKKOR) of Russia expressed disagreement with the current situation and called the duty one of the main reasons for the decrease in profitability in the industry. AKKOR President Vladimir Plotnikov noted that increasing food exports does not bring benefits due to falling prices for products and rising costs. It should be noted that the rates will be in effect until March 26 inclusive, so we will be monitoring the developments in this area.