Russian Sugar Import Duty Unchanged

KIEV - Jan 19/06 - APK -- According to world media reports, Russia, the world's top sugar buyer, will keep its raw cane sugar import tariff at U.S. $140 per metric ton (MT) in January 2006, unchanged from the previous four months, the Economy Ministry said on Tuesday.

Under the Russian tariff calculation scheme the rate is set each month. The rate is pegged to the average New York futures price for the three preceding months. Russian raw sugar imports rose 30.9% year-on-year in the first 11 months of 2005 to 2.81 million MT.

Full 2005 data are not yet available, but some analysts believe imports in the 12 months of 2005 may have exceeded 3 million MT. Imports fell sharply in 2004 to 2.6 million MT from 4.1 million in 2003 following the introduction of a floating import tariff instead of a tariff quota.

Imports started rising in 2005 after the tariff had been adjusted, but later declined with the start of the sugar beet refining season. Imports started rising again from October, after the tariff was cut from previous $164 per tonne.

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