Russian govt to temporarily ban wheat exports to customs union members

The Russian government will temporarily ban wheat exports to countries with which Russia signed agreements on the creation of a customs union, the government’s press service said.

The governmental ruling will go into effect one month from the date of its official publication, and be in force until April 30.

In January, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan signed agreements to set up a customs union. The agreements stipulate a common policy in customs tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers.

In addition to those countries, the customs union is expected to eventually include the other countries of the Eurasian Economic Community, or EurAsEc: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Starting January 29, the Russian government increased the export duty on wheat to 40% from the current 10% until April 30. The move was aimed at directing all grain to the domestic market and putting downward pressure on grain prices.