Russia methanol export duty to EU set to fall

10 October 2008 14:40  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Sellers of Russian methanol expect import duty into the EU to fall by 3.5 percentage points in January, putting them on a level playing field with other exporting countries, they said on Thursday.

"It used to be 2%, but it [the reduction] was taken away, so lately we have been paying 5.5%, but we hear its going back to 2% as of 1 January 2009," said a source at a major importer of Russian methanol.

"We don’t think it will have a serious effect on the market, but of course it will ease the whole situation of revenues for Russian producers. We will be in the same position as other producers, for example in Iran and Asia," said another Russian source.

While several other sellers of Russian methanol into Europe said they had heard similar news, it could not be confirmed by the EU at the time of writing.

The import duty on methanol into the EU is set at 5.5%, although under the generalised preference system methanol of certain origins may be imported at a rate of 2%.

Meanwhile, spot methanol in Europe was currently trading within €265-290/tonne ($358-392/tonne) FOB (free on board) Rotterdam range, according to global chemical intelligence service ICIS pricing.

($1 = €0.73)

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By: Shelley Kerr
+44 20 8652 3214

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