MOSCOW, December 7. /TASS/. Russia’s Union of Grain Exporters projects grain exports from the country at 4.5 mln tons in December compared to 3.4 mln tons in the previous year, and at 26 mln tons in the first half of the agricultural year (July-December) compared with 23.6 mln tons in the previous year, Chairman of the Union Eduard Zernin told reporters on Wednesday.
"After the publicity about the hidden sanctions and intervention of the international community, the situation with Russian grain supplies is returning to normal. I suggest that around 4.5 mln tons will be supplied outside of the EAEU in December compared with 3.4 mln tons in the previous year. All in all, we plan to export 26 mln tons of grain in the first half of the season compared to 23.6 mln tons in the previous year, which is 10% higher. This is not bad, of course, though the potential of the current season is substantially higher," he said.
Zernin expressed hope that the drop in global prices would drive up demand, whereas the ruble’s weakening would make sales more profitable. Among the main risks of the second half of the season, exporters note the potential worsening of the situation with bank accounts as a result of sanctions’ expansion, as well as the change of the discrimination vector, the expert said. "After the failure of mass-scale sanctions barriers, our former partners apparently decided to shift to the practice of discrediting major Russian exporters. How successful they will be in that and what it may result in remains to be seen," he noted.
On December 7, Kommersant daily wrote, citing a survey by the SovEcon think tank, which focuses on exploration of agrarian markets, that Russia might export 4-4.2 mln tons of wheat in December, which would be comparable with the record level of December 2017. Analysts estimate exports in the first half of the season at 22.8 mln tons. According to the Russian Agriculture Ministry, grain exports in the 2022-2023 agricultural year (July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023) might total 50 mln tons.