Russian govt to introduce 5% export duty on peas, chickpeas, lentils from 2025
MOSCOW. Dec 28 (Interfax) - The Russian government will introduce a 5% export duty on key legume crops including peas, chickpeas and lentils starting January 1, 2025.
The duty will apply to exports of these crops outside the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and will be implemented on a permanent basis, the government said in a press release. This measure aims to maintain a balanced ratio between exports of legume crops and domestic consumption, it said.
Flexible export duties will be applied to legumes until the end of 2024, ranging from 4% to 7% depending on the ruble exchange rate.
As reported, Russia has increased its exports of legumes, particularly peas, in recent years. In the 2023-2024 agricultural year (July-June), exports reached a record of nearly 3.2 million tonnes, the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies said. This was driven by a high harvest last year, which totaled 4.7 million tonnes.
Exports are estimated at 1.7 million tonnes in the 2024-2025 agricultural year due to a significant decline in production. In the first half of the season (July-December), exports did not exceed 0.7 million tonnes compared to 1.8 million tonnes in the same period of the previous year. Extremely low shipments to China had a significant impact, experts said. A total of 827,000 tonnes were shipped to China in the first half of the last season, compared to only around 120,000 tonnes in the current season.
Russia exported 540,000 tonnes of chickpeas in 2023, up 2.1-fold from the previous year, and nearly 300,000 tonnes of lentils, up 2.4-fold, the Agroexport Center said. The total area under these crops amounted to around 1.57 million hectares in 2024, approximately 610,000 hectares more than the record set the previous year.
Russia harvested 345,000 tonnes of lentils in 2023 (257,900 tonnes in 2022) and 702,800 tonnes of chickpeas (467,900 tonnes). The results of this year's harvest have not yet been published.