Russia increases rice exports 2.3-fold to 24,000 tonnes in H1 - Agroexport

MOSCOW. July 27 (Interfax) - Russia exported approximately 24,000 tonnes of rice in the first half of 2026, up 2.3-fold year-on-year, and export revenue increased 1.9-fold to $17 million, the Agroexport federal center told Interfax, citing expert estimates.

Most of the revenue was from exports to Belarus, which exceeded $5.6 million, followed by exports to Turkey totaling $5.2 million and to Kazakhstan at approximately $1.4 million.

"More than 86% of the export revenue was from rice, semi-milled or wholly milled. Husked rice ranked second with a 9% share, and broken rice ranked third with 3%," Agroexport said.

The center said that Russia had lifted export restrictions for rough rice, previously subject to a quota of 200,000 tonnes, from July 21. Rough rice exports stood at approximately 500 tonnes in H1 2026, excluding June data for countries in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

According to Rosstat data, Russia harvested 1.24 million tonnes of rice in 2025 and 1.26 million tonnes in 2024.