The Ministry of Agriculture is considering imposing a ban on the export of rapeseed from March 1 to August 31, 2023. The current ban expires February 28.
The government has several times established and then extended the duration of such a ban.
Initially, it was installed from April 1 to August 31 last year, then extended until the end of February 2023. And now there are plans to extend the ban again, until the end of August this year.
The main reason why such a ban is needed is the fact that Russian processing enterprises are not fully loaded with work.
They could process up to 3 million tons of rapeseed per year, but at the same time, if exports are not limited, a significant part of it will go abroad “in its pure form”.
But processing allows you to create added value, so that rapeseed oil, for example, can be exported at higher prices. (Own consumption of rapeseed oil is quite low, as Russians traditionally prefer sunflower oil).
In addition, this is an additional profit for processing enterprises in the Russian Federation, jobs and taxes to the budget.
At the same time, the harvest of rapeseed in 2022 amounted to 4.6 million tons, which is a huge increase of 63% compared to the previous year.
On the one hand, this value slightly exceeds the limit of processing enterprises of 3 million tons.
Therefore, if the export of rapeseed is not limited, then there is a high probability that enterprises will be underloaded with work.
On the other hand, as Sergey Tuchin, General Director of the Rasraps Association, said, the excess 1.6 million tons need to be put somewhere, but it is not clear where.
Long-term storage can lead to a deterioration in the quality of seeds, and in addition, this may lead to the fact that next season Russian farmers will no longer have the desire to set records for rapeseed yields.
Export through Zabaikalsk will remain
True, there will be an exception to the ban: the export of rapeseed through Zabaikalsk to China will remain allowed. Perhaps it is thanks to this “loophole” that it will be possible to sell excess rapeseed, which will not be processed.
True, everything is not so simple there either, because the authorities plan to increase the duty. This duty also has a long history:
— Until the end of last August, it was huge — 30%, at least 165 euros per ton.
— Now — 6.5%, not less than 11.4 euros per ton.
At what level the fee will be this time has not yet been reported.
However, such frequent and significant rule changes are another factor that can greatly reduce the desire of farmers to grow rapeseed.
