Russia’s agricultural exports soar as shipments to Europe & S. Korea see wild surge

Foreign sales of Russian agricultural produce saw a substantial year-over-year growth of 18% from January to August of the current year, the AgroExport division of the country’s Ministry of Agriculture said in its latest report.

In monetary terms, the growth reportedly amounted to nearly $20 billion. Exports of grains soared 15% to nearly $6 billion, while foreign sales of oil and fat produce surged by an enormous 44% and totalled some $4.5 billion.

Exports of milk and dairy products saw an increase of 26% and totalled $905 million. International sales of fish and seafood grew by 8% to more than $3.4 billion. Meanwhile, exports in the food and processing industry increased by 6% to $2.6 billion.

Turkey and the EU were the biggest importers of Russian agricultural goods during this time, accounting for 12.5% and 11.5% of Russia’s total exports respectively. South Korea accounted for 7.5% of total exports, and Kazakhstan 5.9%. Other importers include Egypt, Belarus, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Saudi Arabia.

South Korean imports of Russian agricultural products saw a huge growth of 53% and totalled $1.489 billion, while purchases by the EU surged 31% to $2.356 billion.

Exports of Russian agricultural goods to Turkey reportedly grew by 30% and amounted to $2.492 billion. Kazakhstan reportedly imported $1.172 billion worth of Russian food, marking a growth of 17%. Meanwhile, exports to China dropped 7% to $2.3 billion.

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