Russia’s Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev said the strong rouble hinders grain exports which may be lower than the initially planned 40mmt.
He now reckons 37mmt is probably more realistic.
The Minister went on to say “we need a good grain price and it’s clear that we should not cut production.”
Analyst Alexandre Andrey at BMI Research said the rouble is currently the biggest impediment to Russian exports and a more favourable exchange rate is required to see exports pick up.
Anatoly Medetsky over at Bloomberg reports that the Russian grain trader Mirogroup Resources, stopped buying from farmers as the rouble prices demanded by growers mean the company is unable to earn a profit selling in dollars.