The sun is shining and Russian wheat exporters should be making hay. Farmers are reaping one of their biggest harvests. On top of that, a slump in the ruble that’s hurting domestic businesses should be a boon for exports as many costs shrink in dollar terms, Bloomberg reported. Instead, shipments of wheat abroad are seen down by a quarter for August. For that, the industry can thank President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to restrain prices of staples such as bread as Russians suffer collapsing economic growth and inflation near a 13-year high. His government has imposed a sliding-scale export tax with a burden that grows as the ruble weakens, curbing the price that exporters are willing to pay for the local crop.
