Russia had a record grain harvest of 153.8 million tonnes in 2022, including over 100 million tonnes of wheat, due to higher yields and an increase in the area sown.
Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev told a meeting chaired by President Vladimir Putin that the record harvest of last year had combined with global issues to lead to lower prices on the domestic market for farmers.
This year’s figures include the territories of Ukraine which Putin has claimed as Russia, Patrushev said.
“We are counting on a decent and, very importantly, balanced harvest: We expect that in 2023 the volume of grain, taking into account the new regions, will be about 123 million tonnes, of which about 78 million tonnes is wheat,” he said.
“This will allow us to fully ensure national food security and continue to supply products to our foreign partners in the required, declared volume.”
Earlier this year, Russia’s agriculture ministry set its 2023 grain harvest plan at around 120 million tonnes.
China is the world’s biggest wheat producer but Russia is usually the top exporter of wheat.
Russia and Ukraine are two of the world’s key agricultural producers, and major players in the wheat, barley, maize, rapeseed, rapeseed oil, sunflower seed and sunflower oil markets. Russia is also dominant in the fertiliser market.
The conflict in Ukraine has significantly changed the flow of Ukrainian exports. Both Ukraine and Russia say the Black Sea grain deal, which allowed Ukrainian exports via the Black Sea, is in danger of collapsing.
Source: Nasdaq