Russian food exports up 8% to 70 mln tonnes so far in 2024 - minister

MOSCOW. Sept 11 (Interfax) - Russia has already exported 70 million tonnes of food this year, up 8% year-on-year, Agriculture Minister Oksana Luth said at a meeting of the Agriculture Ministry collegium.

Exports exceeded 100 million tonnes in 2023 as a whole she said. Value-added exports are growing steadily. "For sugar they increased three-fold, and for sunflower and rapeseed oils 1.5-fold last year. Flour exports exceeded 1 million tonnes for the first time ever, rising 25% compared to the previous year," Luth said.

"In the past season we became the world's biggest exporter of barley and peas, maintaining our leadership in wheat and frozen fish. We are consistently strengthening our foothold in the international market and increasing our contribution to global food security," she said.

Russia continues to tap new markets this year. "In particular, we are increasing wheat supplies to Africa and Asia: this year, more than 1 million tonnes have been shipped to countries such as Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Mali, Gambia, Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic and a number of other countries. We have begun supplying barley to Qatar, wheat to Serbia, and oilseed cake to Morocco and Vietnam. And India and Egypt have purchased our juices for the first time," Luth said.

The Federal Customs Service has said Russian agricultural exports fell 4.6% year-on-year to $23.9 billion in January-July and imports dell 0.8% to $21.1 billion, from $21.2 billion a year previously.

Exports rose to $43.5 billion in 2023 from $41.3 billion in 2022, while imports fell to $35.1 billion from $35.8 billion.