Russia intervenes in grain market to curb prices

The Russian government started interventions on the domestic grain market to curb the prices and control export, the Ministry of Agriculture said Tuesday. The twice-a-week intervention will take place only on Siberian, Urals and the Far Eastern grain markets, said the ministry. Currently, the state grain stocks amount to 4.751 million tons. The government planned to sell 1 million tons commodity with up to 15-percent market discount until the end of 2012, according to the website of the Russian grain trading system. The government selected these districts due to especially fast prices hike there, as Russian grain exporters hurried to take advantage of the favorable situation on the global market. From July to September, Russian farmers have exported about 7.5 million tons of grain, and by the end of the year the export amount could reach 14-15 million tons, according to the Russian Grain Union. Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said earlier in October the government planned to contribute about 110,000 tons of grain per week for that purpose. The 4th grade grain would be sold at 7,200 rubles (232 U.S. dollars) per ton and the 3rd grade at 7,600 rubles (245 dollars), he added. Dvorkovich also said Russia harvested 70 million tons of grain in 2012 which match the forecast, as a total of 68 million tons have already been secured.