Agricultural exports hit rouble barrier

The falling value of the rouble and the ongoing financial woes in Russia will bring more risks toChinese exporters, industry sources said on Friday.

Agricultural businesses in Northeast China are likely to be the most affected as the region recently clinched a flurry of export contracts after Russia imposed trade restrictions on farm produce from the European Union and the United States earlier this year. Most of these firms now face daunting prospects of selling at a loss or not selling at all, the sources said.

A spokesman for the foreign trade bureau in Liaozhong county near Shenyang, capital city of Liaoning province, said: "Since most of the export contracts are settled in roubles, Chinese companies face the risk of incurring considerable losses due to currency depreciation."