Putin Bans Exports, Raw Materials in Response to Biden Blocking Russian Oil

Decree comes in response to Biden declaring a total ban on Russian oil and gas imports.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree blocking certain exports and raw materials from leaving Russia until December 31, 2022.

“In order to ensure the safety and smooth functioning of the industry, I decided…To ensure the application of the following special economic measures until December 31, 2022,” the decree says.

These include “a ban on exports outside of the Russian Federation’s territory and (or) imports to the Russian Federation’s territory of products and (or) raw materials according to lists determined by the Russian government,” which will take effect immediately.

The Russian Federation added it “will define the list of states to be covered by these decisions within two weeks.”

The restrictions will purportedly not affect goods and raw materials that Russians, foreigners or stateless persons will import or export from the country for personal use.

The following table lays out Russia’s top 20 exports (in millions of USD annually):

1Crude petroleum183,748
2Refined petroleum70,646
3Natural gas42,892
4Coal14,074
5Semi-Finished Iron6,997
6Aluminium6,638
7Wheat6,211
8Gold5,845
9Diamonds4,677
10Mixed Mineral or Chemical Fertilizers4,255
11Nickel4,186
12Nitrogenous Fertilizers3,850
13Potassic Fertilizers3,643
14Sawn Wood3,448
15Hot-Rolled Iron3,273
16Copper wire3,011
17Synthetic rubber2,919
18Iron ore2,813
19Radioactive Chemicals2,583
20Refined Copper2,528

This geopolitical development comes after Joe Biden declared on Tuesday a total ban on Russian oil and gas imports to punish Russia over its incursion into Ukraine.

The Kremlin has warned that sanctions against Russian oil and gas would unleash “catastrophic consequences” and lead to $300 a barrel global oil prices.

Notably, Russia is the world’s leading wheat exporter, combined with Ukraine accounting for nearly 30% of global wheat exports.

Wheat prices have skyrocketed to their highest level in 14 years following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia is also a top 10 exporter of other grain crops, including barley, corn, rye and oats.

Additionally, Russia is top exporter of fertilizers, and if that material is blocked from the global market, experts warn it could cause a “catastrophic” global food crisis.

“Half the world’s population gets food as a result of fertilizers…and if that’s removed from the field for some crops, [the yield] will drop by 50%,” Svein Tore Holsether, head of agri company Yara International, told the BBC on Tuesday.

Putin’s decree “On the Application of Special Economic Measures in the Sphere of Foreign Economic Activity for the Purpose of Ensuring the Security of the Russian Federation”:

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