July 30 2004, 18:22

Russia: grain interventions suspended

The state has suspended grain sales from the intervention fund, zol.ru has reported with reference to Russian Agriculture Ministry's Federal Agency for Regulation of Food Market.

The decision has been made owing to the fact that not a single deal has been made since late June.

"There have been not any sales for more than a month. The buyers are already oriented onto new crop", a spokesman for the Agency has said. He added that the market prices now were lower than the prices at which the grain had been offered from intervention stock.

According to the Agency, at the beginning of trades in February there were more than 1.5 million tonnes of grain in the intervention fund, which had been bought by the state in late 2002 - early 2003.

The spokesman said the Agency was being now preparing new purchase interventions. The applications for tender are admitted till September 2; the tender will be held on September 3.