Novosibirsk region could increase grain exports to China, there is demand for it - Rosselkhoznadzor

NOVOSIBIRSK. April 16 (Interfax) - Having noticeably increased its grain shipments to China, the Novosibirsk region can continue to increase exports, and to do so, it is necessary to develop abandoned fields, Alexander Bayev, head of Rosselkhoznadzor for the Novosibirsk region said.

"For the Novosibirsk region, the export of grains and legumes [in 2023] was a record, 1.2 million tonnes were sent to third countries, and this is exactly the case when there is a surplus of grain in the region. The region harvests from 2.5 to 3.5 million tonnes of grain, while about 1.8 million tonnes are needed for domestic consumption, which means the whole surplus must be sent out. Since our neighbors have no shortages of these products, there is only one option left, which is export," Bayev told reporters on Tuesday in Novosibirsk .

The region exported grain to 12 countries last year, with 54% of the volume going to China, he said. The income received from the shipments allows our agricultural enterprises to develop, Bayev said.

"And this [54% of supplies to China] is not the limit, as there is the possibility of developing abandoned fields not being cultivated today and expanding the acreage, because there is demand, which means there will be supply," he said.

As previously reported, the Novosibirsk region increased grain exports 50% (over 1 million tonnes) in 2023, including a 3.4-fold increase in shipments to China (567,000 tonnes).

Also, Deputy Chairman of the regional government - Minister of Agriculture of the region, Evgeniy Leshchenko, said that the sown area in the region will change slightly in 2024 compared to 2023 (from 2.361 million hectares in 2023 to 2.3619 million ha), and that the area's structure will change due to an increase in the area sown with industrial crops.

"The sown area of grain crops is decreasing and this year we are seeing an increase in technical crops, primarily oilseeds, and the most significant growth, to 165,000 hectares, is in rapeseed, which is still a fairly high-margin crop. Let's just say we have never sown 165,000 hectares of rapeseed before," he said.