Russia to lift grain export ban after harvest increase

[pampango]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13583287

Russia is to lift a ban on exporting grain from 1 July, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has announced.

The export ban was put in place in August last year, following an unprecedented drought and the widespread outbreak of wildfires.

Russia is the world's third biggest producer of wheat, barley and rye and the ban contributed to a sharp rise in global wheat prices.

Some analysts have suggested the rapid rise in global food prices, resulting in part from the export ban, contributed to the unrest which broke out across the Middle East and North Africa last year.

[xchrom]

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