IKAR in Mass Media

Russia Increases Sugar Import Duty by at Least 57%

19 октября 2007 года

Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Russia, the world's biggest sugar importer, will increase taxes on imports of the sweetener by at least 57 percent, seeking to aid the country's beet farmers.

The duty is being increased to between $220 and $270 a metric ton, from $140, the government said on its Web site today. The tax, which runs from Dec. 1 to May 31, will vary depending on the price of raw sugar traded in New York.

Domestic supply covers about half of Russia's annual consumption of 5.8 million tons. Sugar imports will jump by 19 percent this year to 3.3 million tons, according to the Institute of Agricultural Market Studies, or IKAR. Traders had sought to ship in raw sugar before the higher tariffs.

"The duty took so long to adopt that Russia will be able to import all the raw sugar it needs for the season before Dec. 1," Evgeny Ivanov, a sugar analyst at IKAR, said by phone today.

Russia imported 2.47 million tons of raw sugar between January and August, worth $781.3 million, the Federal Customs Service said Oct. 9.

"The duty will have an impact on the domestic prices and next season's sugar beet sowings," Ivanov said. Russian sugar prices have risen for three consecutive days, he said.

Higher prices will encourage farmers to plant more sugar beet next year. Russia will produce 3.1 million to 3.2 million tons of sugar from beet this season, 5.5 percent less than last year, after hot weather hurt yields, Ivanov said.

The new duties may be scrapped if prices in New York exceed $259.99 a ton or if Russia joins the World Trade Organization, the government said. That's equal to about 11.79 cents a pound.

Raw sugar for March delivery closed at 10.15 cents a pound yesterday on ICE Futures U.S., formerly known as the New York Board of Trade. Prices last reached 11.79 cents a pound in December 2006.

The lowest tariff will apply when New York prices are at 9 cents a pound or more, gradually increasing to the maximum tariff when prices reach 4.5 cents a pound or less, the government said.

Source: Bloomberg | #sugar | Comments: 0 Views: 71

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