Country Policy Monitoring
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Main Food-related Policy Measures

NORTH AMERICA, EUROPE AND OCEANIA

(From 1 Jan 2008 to 11 Oct 2011)
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Australia
   19 Mar 2010  A five years programme entitled ‘Bridging the Yield Gap’, aiming to boost yields of winter crop (including wheat and barley) and add around 2 million tons in output, has been launched. In the first year, the Government will allocate AUD 3 million (USD 2.58 million) to fund the programme, but this will rise significantly in the following three years.
Belarus
   1 Aug 2011  New raw sugar import tariff approved by Customs Union (Russia, Belarus, Kazkahstan): the minimum import tariff is increased to USD 140 per tonne (from USD 85) and the maximum is set at USD 270.
   22 Jun 2011  Import ban imposed on live pigs and pork products from Lituania, for sanitary reasons (Classical Swine Fever in Jonava district)
   1 Jun 2011  Prices on key food products (sausage, cheese, coffee, tea, salt, fish and certain fruits and vegetables) will be frozen until July 1 to avoid speculation following devaluation of national currency and economic crisis.
   1 Jun 2011  Export duties on potash fertilizers (exported beyond borders of the Eurasian Economic Community) increased by 1.5 times to EUR 75 per tonne following price increases in the domestic market.
   1 Mar 2011  The Committee of Customs Union (Kazakhstan, Russia, and Belarus) suspended the 5 percent import duty for wheat, rye and oats, until June 30th 2011 aiming to stabilize prices in the market following drought-reduced 2010 harvests.
   1 Jan 2010  The Customs Union formed by Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus has set common sugar import tariff: in accordance with the Russian scheme, the tariff will be pegged to sugar price in New York and calculated on monthly basis by the Russian Economic Development Ministry.
   1 Jun 2009  Import tariff increased on some food items and for agriculture machinery (tractors and tracks).
   1 Jun 2008  Export tax of 40 percent on wheat and meslin introduced.
Canada
   13 Sep 2010  The Government announced investments in grain research to increase yields for producers in the province of Ontario. Specifically, the Canadian Field Crops Research Alliance would receive up to CAD 4 million (US$3.9m.) to develop new grain and oilseed varieties that are tailored to meet the needs of the marketplace and increase profitability for farmers. Research would focus on six field crops, including spring and winter wheat, corn, soyabeans, oats and barley, and on work to develop new varieties with increased yields and more resistance to drought and disease.
Czech Republic
   2 Mar 2011  Release of 0.3 million tonnes of grains from state reserves for animal feed use to off set a domestic shortage. The grain is provided in the form of a loan, repayable by the end of the year.
European Union
   21 Feb 2011  The European Commission suspended the import duties applied to low/medium quality wheat and feed barley in order to maintain sufficient supply of animal feed ingredients. (effective until 30 June 2011).
Republic of Moldova
   4 May 2011  Additional 2 300 tonnes of wheat from the state reserve distributed to bakeries in order to stabilize prices of bread.
   2 May 2011  The wheat export ban introduced in Febraury 2011 has been lifted.
   4 Mar 2011  An amount of 8 670 tonnes of bread wheat has been released from state reserves to bakeries in order to ensure adequate supply of bread and stabilize prices. This is part of a programme to distribute 15 000 tonnes until August 2011.
   22 Feb 2011  Redistribution of state reserve grain among bakeries to cover more districts of the country and avoid increases in the price of bread. Out of a State Reserve of 60 000 tonnes of grain, 15 000 tonnes are to be distributed from September 2010 to August 2011 in the form of loans to be returned to the State Reserve by September 1, 2011.
   16 Feb 2011  Export ban on sugar imposed.
   2 Feb 2011  Ban on wheat exports imposed until the next harvest in July 2011, to prevent increases in bread prices.
   1 Jan 2008  Taxes on food grains reduced.
   1 Jan 2008  The import duty of 5 percent on wheat has been removed. The 20 percent VAT on grains imports has been removed.
Russian Federation
   1 Aug 2011  New raw sugar import tariff approved by Customs Union (Russia, Belarus, Kazkahstan): the minimum import tariff is increased to USD 140 per tonne (from USD 85) and the maximum is set at USD 270.
   30 Jul 2011  Tariff-quota quantities for poultry and pork have been reduced for 2012, set up at 320 000 tonnes and 30 000 tonnes respectively, (a reduction of 150 000 tonnes and 100 000 tonnes respectively from the 2011 levels). The tariff-quotas for fresh and frozen beef are retained at 30 000 tonnes and 530 000 tonnes respectively.
   22 Jul 2011  The Customs Union agreement on Common Rules of State Support of Agriculture has been ratified. It obliges member countries (Republic of Belarus, Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation) not to apply support measures which distort agricultural and food trade between Customs Union members .
   4 Jul 2011  Raw sugar import tariff increased to USD 85 per tonne from previous level of USD 50 per tonne.
   1 Jun 2011  Trade agreement with Vietnam to import 100 000 tonnes of rice in marketing year 2011/12 (July/June). This is approximately half of the volume that Russia imported last marketing year.
   28 May 2011  Announcement of the removal of the ban on grain exports from 1st July 2011. The ban was introduced in August 2010 following a drought-reduced grain harvest.
   27 May 2011  Measures to regulate the Russian-Belarusian dairy markets put in place. The two countries agreed to stabilize farm-gate milk prices and coordinate indicative prices for dairy products on a weekly basis.
   7 Apr 2011  Minimum purchase price of grain for the State Intervation Fund has been set for the 2011 production. Price of Class 3 milling wheat will vary from RUB 4700 (USD 166) to RUB 5000 (USD 177) per tonne, according to regions; price of Class 4 milling wheat from RUB 4650 (USD 164) to RUB 4450 (USD 157) per tonne.
   2 Mar 2011  Allocation of an extra RUB 4 billion (USD 138.5 million) from this year's budget to subsidize farm equipment leasing and promote renewal of old machinery.
   1 Mar 2011  Sugar import tariff decreased from USD 140 per tonne to USD 50 per tonne until 30 April 2011 to curb inflation .
   1 Mar 2011  The Committee of Customs Union (Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus) suspended the 5 percent import duty for wheat, rye and oats, until June 30th 2011 aiming to stabilize market prices following drought-reduced 2010 harvests.
   22 Feb 2011  The state agricultural bank facilitated access to credit for farmers affected by last year’s drought (2010). Any type of grains is currently accepted as collateral and farmers are no required to pledge property in addition to grain. Loans may equal the full value of the harvest, up from 60% previously.
   14 Feb 2011  Crude oil export duty incresead by 5 percent, from USD 346.6 dollars per tonne to USD 363-364 per tonne, starting from March 1.
   11 Feb 2011  Discounts on fuel prices (up to 10 percent) for farmers have been extended for 2011, to support spring sowing, giving the constant increases in fuel prices.
   4 Feb 2011  Launching of market intervations for 2011. An amount of 2.5 million tonnes of grain from the intervention stocks (9.5 million tonnes) will be sold to livestock producers, feed and flours mills from February to June 2011. Over 500 000 tonnes of grain will be sold every month at prices varying according to quality and location, from RUB 6 000 (USD 200) to RUB 7 535 (USD 251) per tonne. The negotiated minimum prices covers average production costs.
   29 Jan 2011  Removal of the 5 percent import duty on barley, oats, wheat, rye, and maize until 30 June 2011 (Soymeal 5 percent import duty mantained).
   25 Dec 2010  Allocation of 25 percent of the 2011 tariff-rate quota (TRQ) quantities for beef, pork, and poultry to importers; the remaining 75 percent of quota allocations will be distributed by April 15, 2011.
   16 Dec 2010  Release of 1.3 million tonnes of grains from intervention stocks to be sold at low fixed prices to regions hit by drought during summer 2010.
   22 Sep 2010  Release of 250 tonnes of butter, 460 tonnes of vegetable oil, 500 tonnes of sugar, 300 tonnes of rice and 300 tonnes of pasta to the market to curb food retail prices.
   5 Aug 2010  Export ban on wheat, wheat flour, barley, rye, rye flour and maize, until Dec 2010. The ban has been subsequently extended until June 2011.
   1 Aug 2010  Import duty on raw sugar has been raised to USD 200 per tonne on 1, June, then to USD 239 in July and finally reduced to USD 203 per tonne in August.
   1 May 2010  Import duty on raw sugar is reduced from USD 140 to USD 50 per tonne. (The import duty is adjusted monthly based on the average price of sugar on New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) in the previous month)
   1 Apr 2010  Allocation of RUB 500 million (USD 17 million) for grain purchase interventions. Minimum prices have been set at RUB 4 400 (USD 151) per tonne for class-3 wheat and RUB 3 800 (USD 130.41) per tonne for class-4 wheat.
   1 Mar 2010  Imports of prepared meat products have been approved only from New Zeland, Uruguay, Brasil, and Chile and through accredited enterprises.
   1 Jan 2010  Reduction of 2010 import quotas for USA poultry at 600 000 tonnes, down from 750 000 tonnes in 2009. For pork, the quota was cut to 57 500 tonnes, down from 100 000 tonnes in 2009
   1 Jan 2010  The Customs Union formed by Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus has set common sugar import tariff: in accordance with the Russian scheme, the tariff will be pegged to sugar price in New York and calculated on monthly basis by the Russian Economic Development Ministry
   6 Dec 2009  Import duty on rice increased by 70 percent to USD 150 per tonne, the measure is valid until 10 September 2010.
   6 Dec 2009  Import duties on soybean set up at 5 percent.
   4 Dec 2009  The Government approved a Food Security Doctrine that outlines the goal to reach food self-sufficiency (80-90 percent within the next 10 years).
   25 Mar 2008  Minimum support prices for soft milling wheat (lowest grade 4) set at RUB 4 900 (USD 206) per tonne for the European part of the country and at RUB 4 800 (USD 202) for the Eastern part. Grade A milling rye price has been set at RUB 3 900 (USD 164) per tonne irrespective of the region of origin.
   18 Feb 2008  Ban on wheat exports to Belarus and Kazakhstan, untill 30 April 2008.
   1 Feb 2008  Taxes on wheat and barley exports increased respectively by 40 and 30 percent.
   1 Jan 2008  Staple food prices, including wheat and rye, frozen until 1 May 2008.
Serbia
   16 Jun 2011  The three months ban on wheat export has been lifted.
   31 Mar 2011  Duty-free imports of 100 000 tonnes of wheat for three months, until 15 July 2011, approved.
   31 Mar 2011  Exports of 33 000 tonnes of wheat flour permitted to allow exporters to comply with contracts subscribed before the imposition of export ban.
   17 Mar 2011  Ban on wheat exports for three months until 15 July 2011, following record exports of wheat and wheat products in the first nine months of marketing year 2010/11 July/June (650 000 tonnes or 150 000 tonnes more than planned).
   15 Mar 2011  Budget to provide support to agriculture prodution in 2011 reduced (lowest since 2004) and limited only to registered farmers (13 percent of the total). Assistance measures include: subsidized short and long-term loans ; direct payments totalling 14 000 dinnars/ha (USD 180) for grain and other crops up to a reduced ceiling of 10 hectares; funds for development and enhancing of animal and milk production ; subsidies for building and improving grain storage capacity; subsidies for organic food production.
   1 Mar 2008  Import duty on wheat removed.
Solomon Islands
   30 Apr 2008  The Government has announced it will help citizens grow rice crops by giving SBD 5 million (USD 724 000) to farmers across the country to boost the volume of locally produced rice
Ukraine
   11 Jul 2011  The selling price of flour produced by wheat from state reserves has been increased. For wheat flour premium class, price is set at UAH 2801.36/tonne (USD 346.5), for wheat flour first class at UAH 2614.60/tonne (USD 323.4), for wheat flour second class at UAH 2241.09 /tonne (USD 277). The rye flour will cost UAH 2114.04/tonne (USD 261.5).
   1 Jun 2011  Grains export quota system abolished and replaced by export taxes set at 9% for wheat (but not less than EUR 17/tonnes), 14% for barley (but not less than EUR 23/tonnes), and 12% for maize (but not less than EUR 20/tonnes). The duties will be effective from June 1, 2010 to January 1, 2012.
   4 May 2011  Announcement of abolishment of grains export quotas. Announcement of imposition of export duties at 9 percent for wheat, effective from June to December 2011.
   30 Mar 2011  Maize export quota for marketing season 2010/11 (July/June) increased from 3 million tonnes to 5 million tonnes.
   15 Mar 2011  Agreement with Bangladesh to export 500 000-1 000 000 tonnes of wheat every year. About 100 000-200 000 tonnes will be exported by June 2011.
   28 Feb 2011  Provision of 100 000 tonnes of diesel and 100 000 tonnes of gasoline to farmers at subsidized prices to promote the 2011 spring campaign planting.
   15 Feb 2011  Market interventions of wheat flour from the State Reserves to stabilize prices.
   7 Feb 2011  Purchase of 1.25 million tonnes of grains from the 2011 harvest for State Reserves (1.05 million tonnes of wheat, 90 000 tonnes of rye, 40 000 tonnes of barley and 30 000 tonnes of maize).
   1 Feb 2011  All export contracts for wheat, maize, barley, soybeans, sunflower seeds and oil, rapeseeds and others must be registered at the State designated Exchange to be concluded.
   28 Jan 2011  Purchase of grains for State Reserves worth UAH 5 billion (USD 631 million) through issuance of Treasury bills by Finance Ministry.
   18 Jan 2011  The Government agreed to provide export quota exemptions to traders buying grain through future contracts, in order to help farmers to finance the sowing campaign.
   28 Dec 2010  The export quotas for grain imposed in October 2010 is extended until 30 June 2011.
   17 Dec 2010  Elimination of VAT (20 percent) refund for grain exporters from 1 July 2011.
   19 Oct 2010  Imposition of export quotas until 31 December 2010: 500 000 tonnes for wheat, 200 000 for barley and 3 million for maize .
   1 May 2010  Quota restrictions on grain exports, imposed in July 2007, have been cancelled.
   1 Jan 2010  Measures on grain market stabilization approved, setting the maximum profitability rate at 20 percent for enterprises which are engaged in receiving, handling, storage and shipment of grains. Resolution validity is from January to December 2010.
   1 Apr 2008  Grain export quotas imposed in July 2007, extended until 1 July 2008.

 

 

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