Russia reaps bumper grain harvest – data

Russia collected its largest grain crop on record last year, Rosstat, the country’s official statistics agency, said on Monday.

According to the latest data, the harvest amounted to 153.8 million tons, a 26.7% increase year-on-year against 2021. The figure surpassed earlier official projections, which forecast that the crop would amount to 150 million tons. Data shows that the wheat harvest alone reached 104.4 million tons last year.

The previous grain harvest record was set by the country in 2017, when it collected 135.5 million tons.

Commenting on preliminary harvest figures last month, Russian Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev noted that the record results had been achieved due to an increase in yields, which over the past five years rose from 25 to 34 quintals per hectare. In addition, according to Rosstat, the area sown with grain crops also increased in 2022.

Russia is also expected to retain its position as the largest wheat exporter in the world, despite Western sanctions that pose problems for the country’s trade. Speaking at a governmental meeting on December 15, President Vladimir Putin said that, over the past five months, Russia had exported around 22 million tons of grain, and is expected to deliver up to 50 million tons by the end of the agricultural year on June 30. Industry experts predict even larger export volumes, up to 57 million tons, due to high demand for Russian agricultural products.

“The current rapid growth of exports is based on strong sales since early October, when Russian wheat began to regain its competitive advantages. In October-November, Russian wheat was cheaper than French wheat by $10-25 per ton on FOB basis, although in previous months the spread was close to zero,” SovEcon analysts told Forbes Russia.

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