MOSCOW (Reuters) — Russia, one of the world’s top wheat exporters, is preparing to buy grain on the domestic market in line with its restocking campaign, an agricultural ministry representative said Sept. 20.
The move signalled increased competition with exporters.
Russia is looking to rebuild depleted stocks after last year’s drought slashed its wheat crop by a third.
The representative said only preparations for making purchases would start Sept. 20 rather than actual buying.
“Purchases will start soon,” the official said, not disclosing which grains would be bought and in which regions.
The ministry has said it plans to buy up to six million tonnes of grain during the 2013-14 marketing year.
The government’s restocking campaign, which the ministry called interventions, is likely to boost demand for grain, whose prices are already supported by a late harvest, concerns over a lack of high quality wheat and a delayed winter grain seeding campaign.
