Russia Roils Markets on Putin’s Push to Curb Food Prices
- Putin wants new measures as bread, sunflower oil costs rise
- Prime minister signs executive order for oilseed export taxes
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Russia is rattling agriculture markets once again with the threat of government intervention as President Vladimir Putin and his prime minister rail about food-price inflation in one of the world’s biggest exporters of wheat and sunflower oil.
This week, Putin expressed surprise at sharp price increases for staples like bread and sunflower oil, and told the government to develop a plan for curbing them. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin jumped in Thursday, saying food producers, exporters and retailers should stop taking advantage of consumers. Officials are already considering a wheat export tax in addition to the earlier proposal to set a grain shipment quota for a few months next year, according to an export lobby group.