May 2, 2018

Russia hopes to regain status as world's top wheat exporter

Russia is forecast to export up to 40 million tonnes of wheat in the 2018 agricultural season, which is a record figure, the chief executive of the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR), Dmitry Rylko, said, according to a Tass report.

In comparison, the 2016-2017 agricultural year Russia exported 27.1 million tonnes of wheat.

The expected hefty growth has ignited hopes that the country will regain its former status as the world's largest wheat supplier. As of 2016, Russia is the world's third-largest wheat exporter in terms of value, after the US and Canada, according to worldstopexports.com.

"There is a possibility that the volume of wheat exports, taking into account the illegal exports to Kazakhstan, that took place this year (up to half a million tonnes) will total 40 million tonnes. This is, of course, a colossal record. Last year, for the first time in history we exported 27 million tonnes (of wheat) and it seemed to be a record. This year wheat exports may reach 40 million tonnes", Rylko was quoted as saying in the Tass report.

Earlier, the Agriculture Ministry forecast that exports of wheat would reach 36-37 million tonnes.