State intervention in the domestic market restructuring: an example of the Russian sunflower market

Abstract

In recent years, the Russian market of sunflower oil has shown steady growth, while the key trend is the increase and deepening of exports. In 2020, the market showed an increase in exports to China and India, reaching a value of 35% of the total export volume. At the moment, Russia is considering a formula for an export duty on sunflower oil, as it struggles with food price inflation. It is assumed that the export duty on sunflower oil will be structured similarly to that used in the wheat market. The government brokered the deal to mitigate the impact of high international prices on a key domestic product, and was forced to lock in retail sunflower oil prices after domestic sunflower and sunflower oil prices began to rise following last summer’s low sunflower harvest in the Black Sea region. It is expected that the introduction of a new export duty will be able to stabilize domestic food inflation.