RUSSIA MAY REINSTATE WHEAT EXPORT DUTIES should the ruble weaken or if domestic harvests fall significantly, said Russia’s Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev on Sunday, according to TASS. "If something extraordinary happens: a dollar jumps to 80 or 100 rubles, then, of course, we shall again [introduce the export duty]…or, say, we have extremely low crops – not 116, but 40 million tonnes, then we shall have to stop export to keep grain inside Russia," Tkachev told the Duma. Russia had eliminated export duties on wheat beginning in 23 September, Reuters reports.

Egypt calling the bluff: Egypt’s wheat imports should not be affected by any such move by Russia despite Russian wheat making up 44% of Egypt’s imports, said an unnamed official from the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) on Monday. Egypt has diversified its sources of wheat from the Black Sea to include Ukraine and Romania, said the official. Any such move would be a violation of international trade agreements, adding that the statement was meant to coax the market and raise the price of French grain, according to Al Masry Al Youm.

Meanwhile, GASC issued a tender on Monday to purchase an unspecified amount of wheat for delivery during the first ten days of November, Al Mal reports. This would be the second major tender issued since Egypt cancelled its zero-tolerance policy on ergot. Egypt purchased 250K tonnes of Russian wheat in the first tender after the flip-flop.