Russia to increase agricultural exports

Russia is expected to increase grain exports to 40 million tonnes, poultry exports to 170,000 tonnes and pork exports to 200,000 tonnes by 2020.

Agriculture Minister Yelena Skrynnik said at a meeting of the food security round-table in Moscow that food exports will mark a new height for the country's agricultural sector and by 2020, annual grain exports will total up to 400 million tonnes.

According to Skrynnik, Russia will export some 20 million tonnes of grain this year and will return to the grain export market from which it had withdrawn for a certain period of time because of last year's drought. She confirmed the earlier forecast that this year's grain harvest would amount to almost 90 million tonnes. Harvest figures may rise to 120 million tonnes within the next 10 years. She also said that by 2020, the export of poultry could rise to 170,000 tonnes and the export of pork to 200,000 tonnes.

First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov was quoted as saying that Russia was currently exporting grain to 66 countries and by October 1, 2011 it would have exported nine million tonnes of grain. "We are winning almost every international grain supply tender. Prices are good at the moment, varying between US$260-265 per tonne. We should act promptly, so that everything proceeds smoothly and there is no unnecessary accumulation of excess grain stocks," Zubkov added.