(Reuters) – Russia has cut the percentage of foreign currency revenue that exporters have to convert into roubles from 80% to 50%, according to the Finance Ministry on Monday. This follows a policy which contributed to large gains in local currency.

Despite the economic turmoil caused by the conflict in Ukraine this year, the rouble rose about 30% to the dollar, hitting a high of nearly seven years against the euro on Monday.

This has led to concerns that Russia’s strong currency might hurt its export revenues.

According to the finance ministry, a commission of government had determined that a lower percentage of revenue must be converted into rubles by export-focused businesses.

The ministry stated that this was linked to stabilization of the rouble and achieving sufficient foreign currency liquidity on domestic currency markets.

Russia implemented the obligatory foreign currency conversion late February. This was in response to Western sanctions. The sanctions, which were imposed as a result of Russia’s “special military operations” in Ukraine, froze almost half the country’s reserve and deprived the central bank from the ability to interfere in the currency markets.

Due to disruptions in supply chains, dollar and euro importers have had limited interest since then. This has led to a rise in the value of the ruble.

Restrictions on the withdrawal of money from bank accounts as well as on transactions across borders have also held back retail demand for foreign currencies.