Russia to boost grain exports 30% in July-December to 33 mln tonnes - grain exporters' union

MOSCOW. Dec 25 (Interfax) - Russia will export about 33 million tonnes of grain in the first half of the current agricultural year (July-December), which is 30% more than in the same period of the prior agricultural year, the Union of Grain Exporters said in a forecast citing preliminary data.

Eduard Zernin, chairman of the union's board, told Interfax that wheat exports may increase by 20% to about 25 million tonnes.

Recalling that in the last agricultural year (July 2022-June 2023) Russia set a record for grain exports - more than 60 million tons, Zernin noted that the first months of the current agricultural year are demonstrating new records in terms of shipment volumes.

"Russia has been a leader among wheat exporters for several seasons in a row, and the development of direct dialog with key partners has strengthened our confidence that we can produce and sell directly to our consumers, bypassing foreign intermediaries. We need to develop and implement trade practices and new market mechanisms that are relevant for our large-scale agricultural exports," Zernin was cited as saying by the Agriculture Ministry's Agroexport Center.

Direct interaction with importers of Russian grain in friendly countries is one of the priority areas in the operations of the United Grain Company (UGC), said Ksenia Bolomatova, deputy general director of the company, also cited by Agroexport.

Furthermore, UGC is engaged in building seamless logistics from the field to the buyer's port.

Bolomatova also recalled that the key asset - PJSC NKHP shipped a record 7.3 million tonnes of grain for export in 11M of this year. "We expect that by the end of the year NKHP will export up to 8 million tonnes of grain cargoes. In 2024 we expect to maintain positive export trends amid good harvest forecasts," she said.

According to Agriculture Ministry forecasts, grain exports in the current agricultural year may exceed 65 million tonnes.