Record in volume and value for 2020, the 1st year in which Russia is a net exporter of food products

Russia exported a record amount of food in 2020. With a largely positive trade balance, the country is a net food exporter for the first time in the post-Soviet era.

 

 

 

A report from the AgroExport Center, under the Ministry of Agriculture, said Russia in 2020 exported 79 million tonnes of food products, worth $30.7 billion. This represents an increase in both volume and value compared to the results of 2019 as well as compared to the record set in 2018, when the country exported 78.5 million tonnes of food products for a value of $25.8.

 

 

 

With food imports totaling $29.7 billion, the year 2020 was the 1st year that Russia was a net exporter of agricultural products in the post-Soviet era. Russia exported food products to 150 countries.

 

 

 

Leading Russian exports, cereals which accounted for more than half of exported products in terms of weight, and which brought in a third of all receipts. Last year Russia had the second strongest grain harvest in its history. China is the 1st export market with 13% of sales, followed by Turkey with 10% and Kazakhstan with 7%.

 

 

 

In Russia, the agricultural sector has been booming since 2014, following the embargo on agricultural imports from the EU. National production was encouraged and supported. Vegetable volumes have increased and according to various estimates the share of imported vegetables on the Russian market could decrease from 16% to 10% in the coming years. Fruit volumes have also increased, with apple production increasing from 150,000 to 200,000 tonnes annually, leading to complete self-sufficiency and the possibility of exporting Russian apples.

 

 

 

For other fruits, such as citrus, Russia remains a leader in terms of imports. The country having imported in 2019 about 713,000 tonnes of mandarins.