]Russia's Agriculture Ministry has proposed restricting grain exports in the 2014/2015 season as a possible way of balancing the domestic market, Arkady Zlochevsky, head of Russia's Grain Union, said.

Citing a letter from the ministry to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Zlochevsky said the move would unsettle consumers.

Russia shocked grain markets with a one-year export ban in 2010 when drought ravaged that year's harvest. The move was a catalyst for a surge in grain prices and political instability in the import-dependent Middle East and North Africa region.

"Even the consideration of a question like this does harm," Zlochevsky told Reuters. "There should be no discussion of a ban because it frightens our buyers."

Reuters has a copy of this letter but could not confirm its authenticity.

The Agriculture Ministry declined to comment. The government was not available for immediate comment.

The letter suggested that the restriction could take place if exports exceeded 26.9 million tonnes. Russia has already exported about 7.3 million tonnes of grain since the start of 2014/14 year on July 1.

Relations between Russia, one of the world's largest wheat exporters, and the West are at an all-time-low. The European Union and United States have imposed sanctions on officials, banks and businessmen over Moscow's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and support of pro-Russia rebels in Ukraine's east.

Moscow denies arming the rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Reters