Russia has exported 17.1 million tonnes of grain so far in the current crop year, including 15.13 million tonnes of wheat and 1.97 million tonnes of barley, the Agriculture Ministry said on Tuesday. The ministry gave no comparisons with year-ago volumes. The 2008/2009 crop year started on July 1, 2008.
The country exported 902,000 tonnes of grain in the first 17 days of April, including 750,000 tonnes of wheat and 152,000 tonnes of barley, the ministry said on its website www.mcx.ru. Russia exported some 13 million tonnes of grain in the whole of 2007/08, including 11.6 million tonnes of wheat. But most of the shipments took place before the government imposed a high export tariff on barley from the end of November 2007 and on wheat from the end of January 2008. Both tariffs were in force until July 1, 2008.