Page 212 - RusRPTAug24

9.1.6 Agriculture sector news
Grains, the basis of the world’s food supply, are reduced on average by 6% for every one degree Celsius rise above pre-industrial norms. We are now about one degree Celsius above and climbing fast.
Exports of grain products from Russia in the last agricultural season (July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024) increased by 21% compared to the previous agricultural season and amounted to 89.3mn tonnes, the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision (Rosselkhoznadzor) reported.
"The territorial departments of Rosselkhoznadzor issued phytosanitary certificates for the export of 89.3mn tonnes of grain and products of its processing, which 21% exceeds the figure for the 2022-2023 agricultural year - 73.9mn tonnes," the statement said.
It was noted that compared to the 2022 - 2023 season, shipments of barley showed a noticeable increase - by 67% to 9.46mn tonnes, corn - by 31% to 7.7mn tonnes, peas - 2-fold to 3.37mn tonnes, wheat flour - by 60% to 1. 27mn tonnes, oats - 2-fold to 334,700 tonnes, rye - 3-fold to 231,500 tonnes, buckwheat - 2-fold to 222,500 tonnes, sunflower seeds - 2-fold to 148,400 tonnes, mustard seeds - 3-fold to 136,399 tonnes.
The agency also reported that among the countries importing Russian grain last season, purchases increased significantly: to India - 22 times, Indonesia - 8 times, Tunisia - 3 times, Bangladesh - 3 times, as well as Yemen (+60%), China (+57%), UAE (+55%), Brazil (+43%), Mexico (+39%).
In 2023, the second largest grain harvest in Russian history was reached at around 143mn tonnes, taking into account new regions - around 147mn tonnes. At the end of May, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev reported that the forecast for the grain harvest in Russia in 2024 has been maintained despite the frosts - at least 132mn tonnes, including about 85mn tonnes of wheat. According to him, this will allow to export up to 60mn tonnes of grain in the new agricultural season.
The largest developing countries support the Russian initiative to create its grain exchange. Representatives of the ministries of agriculture from BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa), an international organization of the largest developing countries in terms of area and population, support Moscow's initiative to create a BRICS grain exchange, where member countries will be able to pay in their national currencies. BRICS countries currently account for about 30% of all arable land globally. Together, they account for about 40% of grain crops, 50% of fish harvested, and 50% of dairy products produced worldwide. By the end of 2023, the five countries produced 1.17bn tonnes of grain per year (42% of world production), and
212 RUSSIA Country Report August 2024 www.intellinews.com