Sunday, May 29, 2011

Russia Ends Wheat Export Ban

Good news for both Russia, who will enjoy higher export earnings, and the rest of the world, who will get wheat cheaper: Russia ends its ban on wheat exports.

The ban was never really economically rational (though perhaps politically rational for the Putin regime) for Russia as the gains for its consumers was lower than the losses for its producers. Meanwhile, it was similarly the case that the gains for foreign wheat producers were smaller than the losses for foreign wheat consumers.