Official: Russia to remain world’s top wheat exporter in 2017

MOSCOW, Dec 14 (PRIME) -- Russia will remain the world’s top wheat exporter in 2017 and outperform its best competitors the U.S., Canada, Australia and Ukraine significantly, Pyotr Fradkov, head of the Russian Export Center, told PRIME on Thursday.

“Wheat plays a key role in Russia’s grain exports. We suppose that Russia will once again become the world’s leader in its supplies this year,” he said.

Russia exported 24.5 million tonnes of wheat in January–October 2017, while the traditional world’s top wheat exporter – the U.S. – exported 23.8 million tonnes, he said, adding that the end of the year is usually a low season for the U.S. while Russia maintains record-high supplies.

Australia exported about 20 million tonnes in the period, Canada 17 million tonnes, Ukraine 14 million tonnes, France 12.5 million tonnes, and Argentina 10.5 million tonnes.

“Supplies of Russian wheat are traditionally good in the Middle East states. We now also cover almost the whole African continent, and we export more actively this year to the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. This market is attractive, but it is too early to speak about a long-term trend,” he said.

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