Russia’s ban on exporting wheat as a measure to help the domestic market cope with the country’s ongoing draught has had an immediate effect, driving up wheat prices around the world. Putin announced the ban today, in an apparent sudden change of plan from last week, when Russia rejected taking such measures. The New York Times compares this ban to “other decisive actions” taken by Putin, namely, his sudden cancellation of Russia’s bid to join the WTO last year and his decisions to halt the natural gas supply to Europe on two occasions. More from the New York Times:

“We need to prevent a rise in domestic food prices, we need to preserve the number of cattle and build up reserves for next year,” [Putin] said in a meeting broadcast on television. “As the saying goes: reserves don’t make your pocket heavy.”

Large, multinational grain trading companies that operate in Russia had lobbied for the ban as a means to claim a legal exemption from futures contracts struck before the drought, when prices were far lower. A Russian subsidiary of Glencore, the Swiss-based commodities trading company that has close ties to the Russian government, pressed hard as the scope of the drought’s devastation became clear. This company, International Grain Company, is the largest wheat exporter in Russia.