MOSCOW, Dec 24 (Reuters): Russia may fail to supply wheat to Egypt's state buyer GASC in January as its exports have been effectively suspended by informal government curbs, Arkady Zlochevsky, the head of Russia's Grain Union, said on Wednesday.
Russia's government imposed informal curbs with tougher quality monitoring and limits on railroad loadings earlier this month, aiming to cool domestic prices as it tackles a financial crisis linked to plunging oil and Western sanctions.
Officials also plan to place a duty on grain exports, but Zlochevsky said exports have already been effectively suspended.
"Since last Thursday not a single vessel, which had been due to sail under contracts, has left," he told reporters in Moscow.
The rouble has lost nearly half its value versus the dollar in recent months due to weaker oil prices, leading Moscow to try all possible measures to curb inflation.
About 3 million tonnes of grain due for export from the country until the end of January are now stuck, Zlochevsky said.
"Of course, it includes supplies to GASC. How would we be able to supply it?" Zlochevsky said referring to the state buyer of Egypt, the world's largest wheat importer.
He said supplies would become possible only if and when the government makes an exception for Egypt, a strategic buyer of Russian grain.
GASC had purchased 180,000 tonnes of wheat for January shipment, of which 120,000 tonnes for Jan 11-20 shipment purchased on Dec 11 and 60,000 tonnes for Jan 21-31, bought on Saturday.
Russia, expected to be the world's fourth-largest exporter this year with the largest buyers in Turkey and Egypt, had been exporting record volumes from a large grain crop of 104 million tonnes.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said this week that it was "time to think about imposing administrative restrictions on (grain) exports."
Russia may fail to supply wheat to Egypt in Jan
FE Team | Published: December 25, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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