Belarus government has adopted a long expected decision on raising export duties for raw hides to Russia's level. This information came from several sources simultaneously.
The decision came into force on December 3, 2003. To be reminded, there are very high duties in Russia at present (for instance, the duty for cattle hides is 500 Euro per 1 ton).
Taking into consideration that Belarus is a member of the Customs Union Russian, exporters so far had the possibility of substantial economy while exporting raw materials across the Belarus territory. At the same time over the last years the share of raw hides in overall Russian export is constantly falling, while the share of wet blue is correspondingly increasing. Output of finished leather at Russian leather factories is growing. Therefore, there is little possibility of serious lowering prices for raw hides in Russia due to increased duties in Belarus (some experts predict that the average prices may fall by 0.05 US dollars per 1 kilo).

Source: RLN
01.12.2003