Russians Stung by Ruble Pay Near Record Even for Local Wheat
- Grain price in southern Russia nears record high on weak ruble
- Wheat-export tax under review fails to outweigh exchange rate
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Russians already suffering from surging costs for imported food as the ruble slumps are paying near record prices even for local wheat.
Farm-gate prices in southern Russia, the main grower of the grain for export, climbed as high as 11,800 rubles ($150) for a metric ton of fourth-grade milling wheat by Jan. 25, according to Igor Pavensky, director of marketing at ZAO Rusagrotrans, a Moscow-based grain carrier. That’s the highest since a record 12,300 rubles in December 2014, before the government sought to curb local prices with a series of export taxes, Pavensky said.