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Agriculture minister says Russia may resume wheat export duty in case of force majeure

On October 1, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said lifting of the grain export duty should be termless

ANOSINO /Moscow region/, October 2. /TASS/. Russia's Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev does not rule out whet export duty may be returned in case of an emergency.

"We have lifted export duties as the market has stabilized and it is not necessary to regulate it," he told the State Duma (parliament) on Sunday. "If something extraordinary happens: a dollar jumps to 80 or 100 rubles, then, of course, we shall again [introduce the export duty]. Or, say, we have extremely low crops - not 116, but 40 million tonnes, then we shall have to stop export to keep grain inside Russia."

On October 1, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said lifting of the grain export duty should be termless.

The Russian government brought to zero the export duty on wheat from September 23, 2016 through to July 1, 2018.

The export duty was imposed for the first time in summer, 2015. The Russian Grain Union said losses from the export duty in the past season made 50 billion rubles.

In the past agricultural year, which finished on June 31, Russia exported 33.9 million tonnes of grain.

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