According to the Russian government, it intends to more than double grain exports in the coming year. Deputy Prime Minister Viktoria Abramchenko announced on her Telegram channel that the agriculture and economics ministries had agreed on an export quota of 25.5 million tons. This year the quota is 11 million tons.
According to Abramchenko, the increase is due to the record harvest in Russia. According to this, Russia will set a historic record for the grain harvest this year with more than 150 million tons. The country is one of the largest grain exporters in the world.
Fear of famine in poor countries
The rise in food prices, also as a result of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, has fueled international fears of a catastrophic famine in the poorest countries. For months, the ports of Ukraine, another major grain exporter on the world market, were blocked. The agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain negotiated in the summer expires on Saturday, and its continuation is in the balance.
With the announcement that it will increase its own grain exports, Russia could score politically in Africa and Asia. At the same time, Moscow itself complains that Western sanctions are hampering Russian exports of grain and fertilizers.
