July 15, 2025

 

Russia orders action to drive agri exports as wheat sales plunges to record low

 

 

The Russian government on July 10 ordered measures to boost agriculture exports after international sales of wheat fell to their lowest since 2008, while traders are saying the new crop has been slow to come to the Black Sea terminals.

 

The Sovecon consultancy estimated July wheat exports at 2.0 million-2.5 million tonnes, compared with 3.67 million tonnes in July last year. Rail carrier Rusagrotrans estimated July exports at 2.4 million-2.6 million tonnes, citing slow harvesting and low carry-over stocks.

 

Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev, who oversees the sector, had told agriculture officials "to take the necessary measures in a timely manner to ensure positive export dynamics".

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the government to increase exports by 50% by 2030. Patrushev asked officials to ensure that exports stay on target.

 

Russia's Deputy Agriculture Minister, Andrei Razin, said the country's harvesting campaign kicked off later this year due to weather conditions, with crops collected from an area 60% smaller than in 2024.

 

Dmitry Rylko, head of the IKAR consultancy, told Reuters that wheat exports will stabilise in a week as new-crop wheat will come to the market. IKAR projected July wheat exports at two million tonnes in July.

 

Rylko said exports in July 2025 were the lowest for the period since 2008, before Russia became the world's biggest seller of wheat.

 

Grain traders said that farmers, suffering from low profitability of growing wheat due to low global prices and the strong rouble, were withholding their wheat for now in expectation of higher prices.

 

"Farmers are in such a position that they will fight for each rouble in this season," said one trader, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Traders said there was already a shortage of wheat in Black Sea grain terminals.

 

"Grain is arriving at the port two to three weeks later than exporters expected, due to delays in harvesting, lengthy procedures for obtaining declarations, and low prices," another trader said.

 

Russia's grain export tax, a major irritant for farmers, recently fell to zero due to weaker market prices, a move seen as potentially helping exports.

 

The country is expecting its grain harvest to rise 4% to 135 million tonnes in 2025 despite drought in some regions, and sees exports rising to 45 million tonnes of wheat in the current season from 44 million tonnes in the last.

 

IKAR estimated last year's exports at 40.8 million tonnes, with exports to Egypt estimated at 8.2 million tonnes, to Turkey at 3.1 million tonnes, to Bangladesh at 2.8 million tonnes, to Algeria at 1.7 million tonnes, and to Israel at 1.6 million tonnes.

- Reuters