Russian flour exports soar

Russia’s wheat flour exports tripled in 2022, the country’s agricultural watchdog, Rosselkhoznadzor, said in a statement on Thursday.

According to the statement, the volume of wheat flour exports reached 722,000 tons this year, up from 259,000 tons in 2021. Overall exports of processed grain products rose to 1.3 million tons, which is 69% higher than last year. Sales of Russian oats also jumped by 37% to 163,000 tons.

The volume of grain and grain product exports increased by 3% compared to last year. According to Rosselkhoznadzor, Russia supplied these products to 126 countries in 2022, with a majority of shipments heading to the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. The agency also noted that Russian shipments to the neighboring Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) countries rose 1.6 times since the beginning of the year.

Analysts expect Russia to have a record grain harvest this year, and forecast the volume of agricultural exports to also be record-breaking. According to the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies, IKAR, Russia will export 53.5 million tons of grain in 2022, including 44 million tons of wheat. Alexander Korbut, the vice president of the Russian Grain Union, told Forbes Russia that despite the slowdown in grain exports earlier this year, which happened as exporters were trying to adapt to Western sanctions on Russia, the shipments have now regained momentum.

“Our exporters adapted to this situation [and] we are approaching a record in exports… Foreign companies began to understand that American and European regulators would not beat them over the head, accuse them of being enemies of the world, and force them to pay fines for violating sanctions. This understanding is already forming, although I wish it were clearer and more precise,” he stated.

Though sanctions do not target Russian food exports directly, certain restrictions regarding shipping, insurance, financing, and payments still pose problems for Russian exporters. Moscow has repeatedly urged Western governments to lift any sanctions that affect Russia’s grain and fertilizer shipments.

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