MOSCOW, November 28. /TASS/. The Agriculture Ministry expects Russia’s grain harvest in 2023 to be second largest in history, Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev said on Tuesday.

"The harvesting campaign is almost completed. In particular, the harvest has been collected from almost 98% of the area under grain and leguminous crops. Over 151 million tons of grain in bunker weight have been threshed, including almost 99 million tons of wheat. And we understand that in 2023 we will receive the second largest harvest in the history of Russia," he said.

Speaking at a ministerial meeting, Patrushev noted thanks to a large harvest, not only domestic needs will be completely covered, but there will also be an opportunity to send record volumes of grain to foreign partners.

"According to plans, this is more than 65 million tons per season," he said.

Patrushev also noted a significant increase in the production of such socially important crops as rice and buckwheat. In particular, the gross rice harvest exceeds 1.1 million tons, which is 24% higher than in 2022. Also, 1.6 million tons of buckwheat were threshed, which is one of the highest results for the country, the minister added.

In addition, in 2023, the production of oilseeds, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets and a number of other crops increased.

"That means that, the Russian agro-industrial complex has formed a reliable basis for the food security of our country," he concluded.

About grain harvest forecast

Earlier, the Agriculture Ministry estimated the grain harvest in the country in 2023 at 123 million tons, including 78 million tons of wheat.

In September, President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would collect a grain harvest of 130 million tons in 2023.

Later, Patrushev said that Russian farmers had already collected more than 123 million tons of grain, while the grain harvest forecast of 130 million tons would definitely be met. In addition, up to 60 million tons of grain will be exported this season, he said.

In early October, Patrushev said that the grain harvest in Russia in 2023 could reach 135 million tons in net weight, of which 90 million tons of wheat.

In October, the Agriculture Ministry raised the forecast for grain harvest in Russia in 2023 to 140 million tons.

About grain harvest record

Russia in 2022 updated the record for gross grain harvest - a total of 157.676 million tons were collected, 29.9% more than in 2021, including 104.237 million tons of wheat (up 37% year-on-year). The previous record was in 2017, when 135.539 million tons of grain were harvested, including 86.003 million tons of wheat.