It will be the first time since February of this year that the obligation zeroes out. From 6,577.7 rubles per tonne in May to 5,011.8 rubles per tonne in June, there will be a 24% reduction in the tax on sunflower meal. The first time this has happened since December 2022, the duty will decline. The taxes are based on indicated prices for sunflower oil of $940.50 per tonne (down from $1,030.70 per tonne the previous month) and sunflower meal of $262.40 per tonne (down from $285.20 per tonne).
Since July 2022, instead of using dollars as before, duties are now computed in rubles. The Russian government decided to convert the export taxes on grains, sunflower oil, and sunflower meal into rubles and to extend the export taxes on those products for an additional year, through August 31, 2023. On June 30, 2022, the resolution was formally adopted and posted on the official legal information website.
The baseline price for calculating the export duty on sunflower oil is now 82,500 rubles per tonne, as opposed to the previous baseline price of $1,000 per tonne, while the baseline price for calculating the export duty on sunflower meal is now 13,875 rubles per tonne, as opposed to the previous baseline price of $185 per tonne. The methodology used to convert the duty into rubles will be “the average exchange rate of the U.S. dollar to the Russian currency that the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) sets five working days prior to the date of calculating the rate for the export customs duty on grain.”
Sunflower oil is subject to a duty equal to 70% of the difference between the indicative price, which represents the average market price for the month, and the baseline price of 82,500 rubles per tonne. Using a method that equals the difference between the indicated price and a base price of 13,875 rubles per tonne, multiplied by an adjustment factor of 0.7, the export tariff for sunflower meal is determined. The obligations should be in effect until August 31, 2023, inclusive.
