Bids began on February 18. The National Commodity Exchange and the Russian Central Universal Market were accredited to hold them. The Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange and regional exchange sites are used as the technical centre.
As of today, 240 enterprises of the milling industry participate in tenders, Naumov said. They buy cereals from the intervention fund. Representatives of the central regions and Siberia are the most active participants.
"The intervention fund, formed in 2002-2003, constitutes 1,558,000 tonnes, supposed to be thrown on the market", Naumov said.
The main goal of intervention is to level out grain prices on the domestic market, though the exchange managers are not going to assess the process. Yevgeni Ellinski, deputy general director of the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange, said: "Until May interventions may continue. Upon their closure it will be clear what the efficiency has been".
