On 6 February 2021, the Ministry of Economy approved Decree 117, introducing a floating tax system for exports of wheat, maize and barley from 2 June 2021. The floating tax will be calculated by the Ministry of Agriculture on a weekly basis, based on price data of listed export contracts. Export contracts for wheat, maize and barley will have to be registered weekly at the Moscow Exchange, starting from 1 April 2021.The system stipulates that the tax will not be applied for exports of wheat up to a price of USD 200 per tonne, while for exports surpassing this price, the floating tax will amount to 70 percent of the difference between the export price of the previous week and the USD 200 per tonne threshold. For exports of maize and barley, the threshold was set at USD 185 per tonne.

This measure replaces, from the date of its implementation, the system of flat taxes enacted in late January 2021 (FPMA Food Policy) and it is designed to halt a sustained upward trend in the domestic prices for food staples since early 2020, which may have a negative impact on consumers’ access to food. As of early February 2021, prices of wheat and maize were on average 25 and 50 percent, respectively, higher than their year-earlier levels.