Russian agriculture has become a net food exporter for the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Last year, Russia exported 79 million tons of food products, totaling $ 30.7 billion, against $ 29.7 billion imports.
According to the AgroExport Center of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Russian economy exported more raw materials. Such was the case with grains, meat, fish, vegetables and dairy products. Ultimately, Russian agriculture became a net food exporter for the first time since 1991.
Before that, grain and food were still imported into many Russian regions, and the country was sometimes hit by food shortages. In addition, Russia achieved the second-best grain harvest ever in 2020, with Turkey as the main buyer with 9 million tons, worth $ 1.9 billion.
The biggest Russian export growth came from meat, with an increase of 49 percent estimated at nearly $ 900 million, largely due to strong Chinese demand. The second customer is Turkey with 10 percent and Kazakhstan with 7 percent. Russia says it exports food products to a total of 150 countries.
Moscow has recently imposed higher (temporary) taxes on grain exports. With this, the Russian government wants to retain the surplus on the domestic market and thus prevent food prices from rising.
Russia only wants to end this intervention in the grain market when the market stabilizes. For the current season, it seems unlikely that the measures will be reversed.