Russia to Sharply Raise Tariff on Semi-Finished White Sugar

According to a report from a website of Russia Customs, the Russian Customs Union Commission proposed to raise the tariff on semi-finished white sugar considerably in June 2010, with the tariff rate to be determined according to the price of white sugar in April 2010 from the New York Mercantile Exchange. Negotiated and agreed upon by the member states of the Customs Union founded on January 1, 2010, the tariff quota for white sugar from January 1, 2010 to April 30, 2010 and from August 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010 is USD 140 – 270 per ton, while the tariff quota for May 2010 to July 2010 not finalized yet. From January 1, 2010 to April 8, 2010, the white sugar imported to Russia surpassed 377,000 tons, compared with only 91,000 tons at the same period last year.