Soybean production in Primorye, Russia.
Photographer: Yuri Smityuk / TASS / Getty Images
Photographer: Yuri Smityuk / TASS / Getty Images
Russia plans to introduce export taxes on soybean shipments following President Vladimir Putin’s call to cool food price inflation.
A subcommittee on customs and tariff regulation approved an export tax on soybeans of 30%, but not less than 165 euros ($ 202) per ton, Interfax reported on Saturday, citing a person it did not name. The tariff will take effect from February 1 and will remain in force until June 30, according to the report.
Russia is working to reduce food price inflation, after Putin said earlier this month that he was surprised by gross increases in commodity prices, such as bread and sunflower oil.
The government proposed a tax of 25 euros per tonne for wheat from mid-February to late June, while continuing with a previously announced grain export quota for the same period, Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said on Monday. This week, the government it has also signed an agreement with producers of sunflower oil and sugar to stabilize prices.
Russia is increasing its overseas soybean sales this year and could have increased deliveries by 70% annually to more than 1.5 million tonnes, RIA Novosti reported last month, citing Rosselkhozbank. China and Belarus are the main export destinations.
Separately, the subcommittee approved the 5% export tax on steel scrap exports, capping the minimum level at 45 euros per tonne, Interfax newswire reported, citing the Ministry of Economy. The measure, among other things, is needed to prevent rising prices in the construction segment, he said.
(The increase in scrap metal is added in the last paragraph.)