Russian Agriculture Becomes Net Food Exporter for the First Time Since 1991

For the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian agriculture has become a net food exporter. Last year, Russia exported 79 million tons of food products, totaling $30.7 billion, compared to $29.7 billion in imports.

According to the AgroExport Center of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Russian economy exported more raw materials. This was the case with grains, meat, fish, vegetables, and dairy products. Ultimately, this made Russian agriculture a net food exporter for the first time since 1991.

Before that time, many Russian regions still imported grain and food, and the country was sometimes hit by food shortages. Moreover, in 2020, Russia achieved the second-best grain harvest ever, with Turkey as the main buyer at 9 million tons, valued at $1.9 billion.

The largest growth in Russian exports came from meat, with an increase of 49 percent, estimated at nearly $900 million, largely due to strong demand from China. The second largest customer is Turkey with 10 percent and the third is Kazakhstan with 7 percent. Russia claims to export food products to a total of 150 countries.

Moscow recently imposed higher (temporary) taxes on grain exports. With this, the Russian government aims to hold the surplus on the domestic market and thus prevent food price increases.

Russia intends to lift this intervention in the grain market only once the market stabilizes. For the current season, it seems unlikely that the measures will be reversed.