Russia will sell 110,000 tons of grain weekly in several Russian regions to halt grain price hikes and stabilize the domestic food market, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said on Monday.
The grain sales will start on October 23 and cover Siberia, the Urals and the Russian Far East, Dvorkovich said at a meeting of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and his deputies.
“The prices that will be set at the initial stage will be about 10-15 percent lower than the prevailing market prices: 7,200 rubles ($231.51) for fourth-grade wheat and 7,600 rubles for third-grade wheat,” he said.
Russian Grain Union President Arkady Zlochevsky said in August domestic bread prices may rise 5-10 percent in the fall in the wake of rising grain prices driven by drought in some of Russian regions.
Russia has cut its harvest forecast for this year from 80-85 million tons to no more than 75 million tons of grain. Russia harvested 94.2 million tons of grain in 2011