The Government of the Russian Federation commenced the procurement of the 2016 grain crops, including wheat, rye, barley and maize on 19 August. It plans to purchase up to 1 million tonnes of grain by the end of 2016, and a total of 2 million tonnes in the 2016/17 marketing year. Last year, the Government purchased 1.8 million tonnes. State purchase interventions are triggered when prices fall below the minimum price level set by the Government and aim to support farmers and stabilize grain prices. The minimum prices for 2016 purchases were kept at the same level as in 2015: 10 900 RUB (168 USD) per tonne for wheat Class 3; 10 400 RUB (161 USD) per tonne for wheat Class 4 and 8 800 RUB (136 USD) per tonne for wheat Class 5 (feed quality). The price of rye is set at 7 400 RUB (114 USD), barley at 8 000 RUB (124 USD) and maize at 7 900 RUB (122 USD).