The heads of the "grain" regions of Russia appealed to the president of the country with a request to limit the shares of foreign traders in grain exporting companies, since, in their opinion, products are exported through "shadow links of the chain". This is reported by RBC.
The governors propose to legislatively limit the maximum share of direct and indirect participation of non-residents in agro-industrial companies, primarily engaged in grain exports, at the level of 20%, and also oblige Russian owners of agricultural enterprises to transfer their parent companies from foreign jurisdictions to the Russian one.
Foreign traders are now buying up to 30% of grain exported from producers in Russia and about 40% more when shipped in ports.
"This leads to a decrease in the export price, financial losses of producers and the budget," a source of RBC retold the contents of the governors' letter. He noted that the resolution of the President of the Russian Federation on the letter contains instructions to generally support the initiative of the heads of regions, while the decision should exclude the risks of negative impact on the industry and not offend the legitimate interests of bona fide foreign investors.
In 2022, Russia will harvest a new record grain harvest in its history. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, as of December 14, the grain harvest in Russia exceeded 159 million tons in bunker weight (before cleaning and drying), in net weight it may amount to about 150 million tons.
Record exports are also expected. According to the results of the agricultural year (from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023), exports can be increased to 50 million tons. According to analysts, more than 70% of shipments of Russian grain for export are accounted for by ten grain traders.