International Grains Council raises grain export forecast for Russia in new season to 59 million tonnes

MOSCOW. April 19 (Interfax) - The International Grains Council (ICG) April review shows a slightly increased forecast for grain exports from Russia in the new agricultural year (July 2024 - June 2025) to 59 million tonnes from the March estimate of 58.7 million tonnes.

Exports are forecast at 63.3 million tonnes for the current agricultural year (July 2023 - June 2024).

The grain harvest estimate remains unchanged at 132.8 million tonnes.

The forecast for wheat exports in the new agricultural year remains at the March level of 48.1 million tonnes. The forecast for the current year is 52.1 million tonnes. IGC estimates Russia's wheat harvest at 90.4 million tonnes.

Estimates of exports in the new agricultural year from the closest competitor, the EU, are lower: grain is forecast at 47.9 million tonnes, including 32.3 million tonnes of wheat.

IGC estimates that the global grain harvest in the 2024/2025 agricultural year will reach 2.3221 billion tonnes (versus 2.3222 billion tonnes in the March forecast), including 797.7 million tonnes of wheat (versus 798.8 million tonnes forecast in March).

The Russian Ministry of Agriculture's preliminary estimate of this year's grain harvest is 132 million tonnes. The harvest reached 144.9 million tonnes in 2023.