The country will have enough grains to export more than 23 million metric tons this year, Grain Union president Arkady Zlochevsky said.
Out of a crop of 90 million tons, there will be a surplus of 40 million tons, with 13 million tons put into stockpiles, Zlochevsky said. That leaves 27 million tons left over. The Agriculture Ministry said this month that the exports might be 20 million to 23 million tons. Last year, Russia banned shipments after the worst drought in half a century curbed production.
Exports are limited because of "infrastructure," Zlochevsky said Wednesday.
A grain crop of 90 million tons would be 48 percent higher than last year's 60.9 million-ton crop, as estimated by the State Statistics Service. Russia exported 3.98 million tons of wheat in the 12 months ended June 30 after the government banned shipments last August, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Russian wheat exports will be 16 million tons in the 2011-12 marketing year, according to the USDA.
(Bloomberg)
