Governor of Chelyabinsk Region Petr Sumin sent an official letter to the Russian Federation Agriculture Minister Elena Skrynnik, asking her to change the official procedure of crop trading in the country.

This year, the Russian Federation Government decided to buy out crops from a number of Russian farms, including sixty Chelyabinsk Region-based ones that had been accredited to take part in the trading process.

According to the spokesperson for the Governor, only 9,000 tons of wheat crops have been sold through the Ural Stock Market since November 2, 2009 when the trading started. Even though the Ural Federal District’s top price for 1,000 kilos of third-class food wheat has been determined at 6,000 RUR, the actual stock price has never exceeded 4,000 RUR. To make matters worse, the bad weather conditions in Chelyabinsk Region leading to reduced yield have brought the prime cost of a ton of wheat to 4,900 RUR.

‘As the prime cost of 1,000 kilos of wheat is greater than its trading price in Chelyabinsk Region, the region’s government is asking you to change the trading procedure. We feel the trading should be stopped once the crop price equals that of its prime cost within the region,’ the Governor’s letter to the Minister says.

Chelyabinsk Region Government is also asking for some additional trading lots for its 2009 crop yield. Alternatively, the crops could be sold in one big bulk.