Page 48 - RusRPTSept19

talks. It could be bad news for European Union nations such as Germany, which currently dominate sales to the kingdom. Saudi Arabia was the second- largest buyer of EU wheat last season, trade data show. Bigger supplies and competitive prices have helped Russia expand exports across the Middle East and North Africa in recent years, and the country is a key supplier to No. 1 importer Egypt. It aims to gain access to Algeria, a crucial market for France, where Russian grain also doesn’t typically meet quality standards. Saudi Arabia wants to increase purchases of wheat, barley and other products from Russia, Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said during a June trip to Moscow. Russia could ship 500,000 tons of wheat a year to Saudi Arabia, according to IKAR.
Russia’s exports of soybeans to China soared more than sixfold on the year to 80,000 tonnes in July, with combined exports of grain jumping about 50% to 107,000 tonnes, the Federal centre of Quality and Safety Assurance for Grain and Grain Products said in a statement on August 9.In March, Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev said that Russia’s total exports of soybeans jumped 73% on the year to US $293mn in 2018, with China accounting for $246mn.
Turkey became the top importer of Russian grain in July, with imports almost doubling on the year to 1.2mn tonnes of grain, including wheat, whose sales more than doubled to 1.1mn tonnes. Exports of soybeans to Turkey stood at 19,000 tonnes in July, more than a total figure for the whole of 2018, the centre said.
Iran was the third largest importer of Russian grain in July, raising its imports by 22% on the year to 325,000 tonnes. Exports of Russian barley to Iran remained flat on the year, while corn exports surged 81% to 167,000 tonnes.
48 RUSSIA Country Report September 2019 www.intellinews.com