IKAR in Mass and Industry Media

Russia buys 300,000 T Brazilian soybeans

Reuters

MOSCOW, April 28 (Reuters) - Russia said on Thursday it will import 300,000 tonnes of Brazilian soybeans, the largest volume of soy it has bought in the last 15 years, to stimulate domestic animal and poultry breeding.

Vasily Krutin, head of the Agriculture Ministry's Federal Food Market Regulation Agency, told Reuters the beans, valued at $60 million, are to be delivered within 12 months starting from the end of May of this year.

"The first ship is currently being loaded in Brazil, and it is expected to arrive in Russia at the end of May," Krutin said. He declined to say how big the shipment will be.

In the last 15 years, Russia has not imported such large volumes of soybeans, said Dmitry Rylko, general director of the independent institute for the agricultural market studies.

"We had only two comparable import volumes, in 1992 and in 1999 when Russia imported (annually) around 200,000 tonnes of soybeans," Rylko said.

Krutin said that acting on orders from the Agriculture Ministry, the agency had struck a deal with soybean producers he would not name.

The soybeans will be processed essentially into soy oil and soymeal, an animal feed. The agency will pay for the delivery after selling the two products on the domestic market.

Krutin said that the deal could be extended.

Russia, which aims to increase domestic red and poultry meat output, has restricted imports by quotas, but had so far succeeded only in increasing poultry population. Cattle and pig numbers fell mainly due to shortage of feed.

In another bid to help domestic producers, the government last month authorised dropping a five percent import tariff on animal feed including maize and soybeans.

Rylko said that last year Russia imported just over 1,000 tonnes of soybeans, but it also imported 392,000 tonnes of soymeal.

He said that the country produces around 200,000 tonnes of soybeans a year but it needs more than three times that volume and the demand is rising.

28.04.05

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