Egypt becomes leader in imports of Russian wheat in July-Dec - Rusagrotrans

MOSCOW. Dec 28 (Interfax) - Egypt imported 5.3 million tonnes of Russian wheat in the first half of the 2024-2025 agricultural season (July-December), up 1.8-fold from a year earlier when the figure stood at 2.9 million tonnes, according to a ranking compiled by the Rusagrotrans Analytical Center.

Egypt leads in Russian wheat purchases with this figure, Rusagrotrans told Interfax. For the first time, Bangladesh has moved to second place with 2.14 million tonnes compared to 1.9 million tonnes in July-December 2023. Turkey has dropped from first place last season to third in the current season, with imports standing at 2.08 million tonnes, down almost 33%. This is attributed to import restrictions introduced this season.

Algeria ranked fourth at 1.66 million tonnes, compared to 1.49 million tonnes a year earlier, while Kenya secured fifth place with 1.35 million tonnes, up 1.5 fold from the previous year's 0.87 million tonnes.

"In the previous season, Iran held fourth place, but it has significantly reduced imports this year due to a big harvest and payment issues, dropping from 1.09 million tonnes in July-December 2023 to 0.59 million tonnes for the same period in 2024. Pakistan, which was in fifth place last year, has banned imports this year due to a record harvest," Rusagrotrans said.

Analysts also said that they have maintained their forecast for Russian wheat exports in December, including to Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) countries, at 3.7-3.8 million tonnes, unchanged from last week's forecast (4.06 million tonnes in December 2023). As a result, wheat exports in the first half of the 2024-2025 season will reach a record 29.4 million tonnes, exceeding last season's record by 1.7 million tonnes (27.7 million tonnes in July-December 2023).