Russia exports record 795,000 tonnes of flour in past farming year - IKAR

MOSCOW. Aug 29 (Interfax) - Russia exported 795,000 tonnes of flour in the 2022/2023 farming year (July-June), up 1.5 times from more than a year earlier (521,000 tons), Irina Glazunova, deputy general director of the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR), told Interfax.

"This is a record figure, this is the first time it has been reached," she said.

The main buyer of Russian flour was Iraq, with 204,000 tonnes shipped compared with 65,000 tonnes in the previous last farming year. It displaced prior leader Afghanistan, which fell to second place, with purchases of 103,000 tonnes of flour compared with 98,000 tonnes a year earlier.

China was third, increasing purchases to 82,000 tonnes from 24,000 tonnes. At the same time, Turkey, which was in the top 3 of buyers a year ago, slipped to 9th place, reducing imports of Russian flour to 33,000 tonnes from 44,000 tonnes.

Last season Azerbaijan increased purchases to 64,000 tonnes from 21,000 tonnes, Turkmenistan - to 54,000 tonnes from 22,000 tonnes, Armenia - to 43,000 tonnes from 33,000 tonnes. At the same time, exports to Belarus decreased to 34,000 tonnes from 41,000 tonnes a year earlier, to Kazakhstan - to 35,000 tonnes from 38,000 tonnes respectively.

North Korea joined the list of the top 10 buyers of Russian flour in the past farming year, with deliveries of 25,000 tonnes. It replaced Kyrgyzstan in the top ten (20,000 tonnes in the 2021/2022 farming year).

Glazunov also reported that the beginning of the current farming year was marked by high exports. In July, 98,000 tonnes of wheat flour was shipped abroad.