The grain market in the 1998/99 agricultural year

摘要

1998 was a difficult year for Russia's cereal sector, which made a loss of 4% with and 17% without subsidies. There was a 17% fall in sale prices and a rise of 30% in costs. Yields were down 43% because of drought. Stocks were expected to last untilthe 1999 harvest but to be very low. Regional administrations released funds for buying into reserves and government measures prohibited export and re-export from February 1999. Producer enterprises sold considerable quantities in order to clear debts.Commercial banks were allowed to trade in grain in 1999 but were in no hurry to put it on the market. Ex-farm prices were generally lower than in the previous year. Wholesale prices mostly rose faster, peaking in January 1999. On the grain exchanges, supply prices of milling wheat rose 2.3 times during July-February. The arrival of humanitarian aid deliveries from the West and other deliveries from Kazakhstan in April 1999 was expected to stabilise prices. Administrative limits on flour and bread pricesin some regions led processors to divert more grain into pasta and drinks manufacture. Flour prices, however, were forced up by panic buying following the August financial crisis.