Russia cuts wheat export duty by 2% and maize duty by more than 30% from September 16
Russia's floating export duty on wheat falls 2% to ₽1,146.3 per tonne for 16–22 September, while the maize rate drops to ₽617.5 from ₽898.1 and barley stays duty-free. The cuts come as domestic grain prices fall and world quotations sit near three-year highs, with a full zeroing of duties already approved through 31 December 2026.
Russia will lower its export duty on wheat for the week of 16–22 September, with the rate falling 2% to ₽1,146.3 per tonne. The duty on maize is being cut far more sharply, to ₽617.5 per tonne from ₽898.1 — a reduction of more than 30% in a single week. The rate on barley remains at zero.
The new levels were calculated from indicative prices of $227.5 per tonne for wheat, $187.1 per tonne for barley and $217.3 per tonne for maize, according to Rambler Finance. An indicative price is a reference market value used by the authorities to calculate taxes and duties; in this case it is derived from export contracts registered on the exchange.
The rates from 16 September
- Wheat: ₽1,146.3 per tonne, 2% below the previous week
- Maize: ₽617.5 per tonne, against ₽898.1
- Barley: zero, unchanged
Russia is the world's largest wheat exporter, and together with Ukraine it accounts for more than a quarter of global wheat exports. That makes the weekly recalculation of the Russian duty a direct input into the price of a large share of the wheat moving in international trade, and into the margin exporters can offer sellers on the domestic market.
How the grain damper works
The damper has been in force since 2 June 2021. It combines floating export duties with the return of the collected money to agricultural producers in the form of subsidies. Rates are set weekly at 70% of the difference between a base price and the indicative price. The base price currently stands at ₽18,000 per tonne for wheat and ₽17,875 per tonne for barley and maize.
Because the levy is a fixed share of that gap, the size of each cut shows how far the indicative price has moved toward the base level. The ₽280.6 reduction in the maize duty implies the spread narrowed by roughly ₽400 per tonne week on week. The wheat adjustment, worth about ₽23 per tonne, points to an export price that has barely moved.
Domestic prices fall while world quotes rally
On 25 August, Rambler Finance reported that prices on the Russian domestic market had begun to fall rapidly because of restrictions on export shipments and logistical problems in shipping. In the south of the country, third-class wheat lost ₽1,935 to ₽11,717 per tonne, while fourth-class wheat fell ₽2,815 to ₽9,717. Maize and barley also dropped significantly in the central regions and the Volga area.
World benchmarks moved in the opposite direction. On 28 August, global wheat and maize quotations reached their highest levels in three years amid supply disruptions: wheat futures rose 3.1% to 784 cents per bushel, gaining 12.1% over the week and more than 54.5% since the start of the year.
Zero duties approved through 2026
The weekly adjustments may prove short-lived. The customs subcommission has already approved zeroing the export duties on wheat, barley and maize until 31 December 2026. Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut said the ministry is waiting for the corresponding government decree, adding that “in any case these measures will apply from 1 September.”
Until that decree is published, exporters keep paying the weekly rate, and the duty continues to sit between the world price and the price Russian farmers receive. Removing it would transfer that amount back into the export chain at a moment when domestic quotations are under pressure and global ones are at multi-year highs.
It would also close the funding channel the damper created: the duty revenue recycled into subsidies for agricultural producers since 2021. How that support is replaced, and on what terms, remains the open question for the Russian grain sector while the zero-duty regime is in force through the end of 2026.
