Russia could export over 1 mln tonnes of flour this year for first time in history - Flour Millers' Union

MOSCOW. Nov 16 (Interfax) - Flour exports from Russia this year could top 1 million tons for the first time in history, Igor Sviridenko, President of the Russian Union of Flour Milling Enterprises, said at the XVI Congress of the Russian Bakers Union in Moscow on Thursday.

"Flour millers increased exports by 350% last year and are now running slightly ahead of even this record result - somewhere around 13-14%. We hope to exceed 1 million tonnes of flour exports this year for the first time in Russian history," Sviridenko said.

This forecast is higher than the previous one, which was issued by flour millers in late September at the Windmill-2023 conference and totaled 950,000 tonnes.

Last year, Russia exported 881,000 tonnes of flour compared with 261,100 tonnes in 2021.

Referring to the discussion around the supply of rye to flour millers and rye flour to bakers, Sviridenko emphasized that there is no shortage of rye in the country, although its production has significantly decreased in recent years. This is due, among other things, to farmers' declining interest in this crop. "Rye is economically less attractive. At the first opportunity it is replaced by wheat," he said.

At the same time, he warned: "If we lose production of rye, flour and, accordingly, rye bread in 10-15-20 years, it will also take decades to recover."

According to Rosstat, the Russian rye harvest in 2022 was 2.2 million tonnes, 26.5% more than in 2021. In the 90s, Russia harvested up to 16 million tonnes of this grain.