States demand bigger cut of commodities profits

They were two unrelated acts on opposite sides of the world, but for companies in the commodities business, equally foreboding.

In Kazakhstan, the deputy finance minister announced that he would unveil later this month a new 10 per cent export tax on all metals that are mined and exported from the country. The wails from industry were shrill, and predictable.

Similar complaints could be heard in Ecuador, where President Rafael Correa has suspended all large-scale mining projects for six months while he works on a new law governing how the country's natural resource spoils will be divided.

These were not isolated incidents. Amid what experts agree is a historic boom that has seen prices across both hard and soft commodities – from iron ore and oil to rice and wheat – soar to record highs, governments are angling for a larger slice of the pie.

Ian Henderson, head of the natural resource fund at JP Morgan, said: "There is certainly a move for increased government take on commodities, and it is something that has to be worrying. Given the current climate, I don't see the pendulum swinging towards open doors in a hurry."

Indeed, the Kazakh plan comes on the heels of a tax hike on oil exports, which is expected to net the Kazakh Treasury billions in extra proceeds.

The usual response from companies is to threaten to shelve projects in development, saying that higher taxes will make them less competitive. That is the argument deployed by a Kazakh mining industry group, which includes the FTSE 100 groups ENRC and Kazakhmys, and the Kazakh unit of ArcelorMittal, who wrote a letter of protest at the proposed levy.

They are not likely to win the argument. Companies are only likely to make good on such threats in the most extreme circumstances. If they can make money on a project, even if it is less than initially hoped, they will proceed.

The often strong-arm tactics employed by the likes of Russia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Venezuela are well known. Yet more worrying for business is the growing trend among those countries that had assiduously cultivated a business-friendly attitude, virtually falling over themselves to attract foreign direct investment, who have been emboldened by the record high prices to assert their rights to more.

Earlier this year, the Kazakh government secured a much larger stake in the massive Kashagan oilfield from the consortium of international oil companies working on its development.

If commodities demand continues to outstrip supply, however, higher taxes will be the least of the world's worries. The Philippines put out a tender yesterday for 500,000 tonnes of rice. It was only able to find two-thirds of the desired amount because of export restrictions by several rice-producing nations seeking to safeguard domestic needs. For a commodities-hungry world, it is a worrying precedent.