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Russia, Türkiye's top wheat source, prepares to suspend export tariffs on wheat, barley, and corn between August 13 and August 19, temporarily eliminating duties of 19.4 rubles ($0.24) per ton on wheat and 371.5 ($4.65) rubles per ton on corn, while barley tariffs have already been at zero for an extended period.
The decision, announced by Russia’s Ministry of Agriculture on Monday, comes after Türkiye introduced a duty-free wheat import policy under its inward processing regime on March 19, 2025, signaling a potential increase in wheat trade between the two countries.
The tariff suspension is part of Russia’s “grain damper mechanism,” launched in June 2021 to stabilize domestic food prices while directing export duty revenues back to farmers in the form of subsidies. Under the system, duties are recalculated weekly based on the difference between fixed reference prices and benchmark export prices recorded on the Moscow Exchange, with 70% of that difference applied as the tariff rate.
Benchmark export prices reported by Interfax this week were $223.5 per ton for wheat, $199.7 for barley, and $220 for corn. Current reference prices stand at 18,000 rubles per ton for wheat, 17,875 rubles per ton for barley, and 16,875 rubles per ton for corn.
Türkiye is Russia’s second-largest grain customer after Egypt, importing 7.2 million tons in 2024. That year, Russia exported a record 72 million tons of grain, up from 68.6 million tons in 2023. Other top buyers included Iran with 5.6 million tons, Saudi Arabia with 4.6 million tons, and Bangladesh with 3.9 million tons.
Under the inward processing regime, Turkish flour mills can import wheat without paying customs duties, provided they export an equivalent quantity of processed flour. The policy supports Türkiye’s large-scale milling industry, which is among the leading flour exporters worldwide, while reinforcing its dependence on major suppliers such as Russia.
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