Before the meeting, the Prime Minister inspected the operation of the Trans-Baikal Grain Railway Terminal.
Mikhail Mishustin’s opening remarks
Report by Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut
Mikhail Mishustin held a meeting on grain export development
Mikhail Mishustin held a meeting on grain export development. With Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut
Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut during a meeting on grain export development
Mikhail Mishustin held a meeting on grain export development
Excerpts from the transcript:
Mikhail Mishustin: Good afternoon, colleagues.
We have just now watched a presentation of the Trans-Baikal Grain Railway Terminal’s operation and plans for its development. It is an ambitious project with a large throughput capacity. It is important that it combines the necessary conditions for transportation and storage, which offers additional opportunities for the advance of our national producers, primarily Far Eastern and Siberian ones, to foreign markets.
I would like to discuss grain export today.
As per the President’s instructions, the Government is providing systemic support to our agricultural industry. The top priority is to ensure our country’s food security, so that our citizens have access to high-quality, healthy and diverse food products. We are working in compliance with the basic targets approved by the head of state in this sphere. We can also report growth in many other sectors.
The high level of domestic production allows us to export our agricultural products, thereby making a large contribution to the strengthening of global food security. As you know, it is based on grain crops.
Russia holds a leading place in the global grain market. Last year, our farmers gathered in a good harvest of nearly 130 million tonnes of grain and grain legumes. This fully covered our domestic requirements and allowed us to put up substantial amounts for sale and export to other countries.
In 2024, we for the first time took a leading place in the export of barley. We also maintain our place with regard to wheat, accounting for 25 percent of wheat exports in the world.
Taken together, this reaffirms our country’s position as a reliable partner. We faithfully comply with our commercial obligations and will continue to act in accordance with these principles.
The President has instructed us to increase agricultural exports by 50 percent by 2030 compared to 2021. We will address this task, in part, by increasing grain exports.
We will also continue to provide all-round support to our agricultural producers. We continue to make use of the instruments that enjoy great demand, including the most widely used tool, preferential lending. Preferential loans can be taken out for the purchase of seeds or for the harvesting campaign. We have approved additional allocations for subsidising loan interest rates this year. Most of them were used to take out short-term loans, which farmers need particularly at the beginning of spring sowing.
Next, fertilisers are vital for attaining good results in agriculture. The Government is monitoring their affordability.
We have allocated the necessary amounts of fuel for field work, and we are improving the preferential leasing mechanism, so that farmers can renew their pool of vehicles, including tractors, combine harvesters and the like.
Of course, providing for the shipment of these goods is an essential task. We adopted a comprehensive approach in this regard.
First, the Government offers regions targeted support. In 2025, the subsidy for shipping grain from Siberia and the Urals by rail increased by one third to exceed 8 billion roubles. This effort helped ship over 2 million tonnes, which is a big deal for local farmers.
Second, there is an effort to expand port infrastructure. In 2024, grain trans-shipment capacity increased by about 10 million tonnes and came close to reaching 85 million.
This work is in progress. We will make sure that the approach roads can handle bigger traffic volumes. In keeping with the President’s instructions, the Government expects to increase traffic capacity for the routes leading to the Azov and Black Sea ports and the ports in Russia’s east by over 50 million tonnes.
Today, we will also have a detailed discussion on additional steps we must take to fully unleash the national agricultural export potential, including here, in the Far East. Consolidating Russia’s standing on the global market is also instrumental. This will serve as a development driver for regions in this macroregion and for the country in general, of course. This is also an imperative in terms of improving the quality of life and supporting businesses.
I would like to give the floor to Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut. Go ahead, please.
Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut during a meeting on grain export development
Oksana Lut: Mr Mishustin, colleagues.
Building on our traditions and in view of the nature and climate we have in Russia, our country has firmly established itself as a grain producing nation. Wheat is clearly a staple crop for us.
As you have said, Mr Mishustin, the grain sector lies at the core of ensuring Russia’s food security. In fact, it ensures food security not only for Russia, but for most countries around the world.
Russia has been the leading wheat supplier to the global market since 2016. We retained this leadership during the latest season and will be seeking to reassert it once again during the current season. Our overall strategy consists of maintaining our leadership in terms of global grain supplies.
Also, as you have noted, Russia reached a new high in 2024 by becoming the number one barley exporter. We are expecting crop yields to be quite good this year too, and hope to be able to once again hit a record.
During the previous season, which ended on 1 July, Russia exported 44 million tonnes of wheat, while grain exports in general were about 53 million tonnes. This result is consistent with our average annual exports over the past five years, which is to say that this is quite a positive outcome.
In terms of the geography of our export operations, we deliver grain to 108 countries around the world, and 70 of them import our wheat. There is an ongoing effort on our behalf to expand our export geography. Last year we exported our produce to eleven more countries. We resumed shipments to seven countries which had previously stopped buying our grain.
As for the current season, we laid quite a solid foundation in terms of planted acreage. Grain accounts for about 46 million hectares of cultivated land, and the sowing season went quite smoothly without any major failures. Of course, the weather did cause some challenges, since several regions are currently suffering from extreme drought, while others are flooded so that farmers cannot start harvesting their crops. Nevertheless, we have not changed our forecast to grow 135 million tonnes of grain, including between 88 and 90 million tonnes of wheat as our staple crop.
Of course, it would be impossible to achieve these results without state support, as you have said in your remarks. We offer a wide range of state support mechanisms. This year, 10 billion roubles for direct subsidies to support grain producers and help them sell their products have been allocated, including over 1.3 billion roubles for Siberia and Russia’s Far East. Let me note that agricultural producers have already received all these funds.
Also this year, we are curtailing per-hectare subsidies across the country, with only two exceptions – Siberia and the Far East, the two macroregions. We also ensured that 780 million roubles in farming aid have reached their intended recipients.
Separately, I would like to thank you for the preferential lending programme, Mr Mishustin. I would say, this is our key support measure today. This year’s 18.6-billion-rouble programme for seasonal fieldwork is moving faster than last year’s.
Let me say a few words about support for domestic breeding – an extremely important field, especially for grains. This year, 2.4 billion roubles were allocated to elite seed production and the purchase of seeds developed under the federal science and technology programme.
These measures have already helped increase the overall share of domestic seeds. For example, domestically bred seeds now account for 77.5 percent of grains, up nearly 6 percentage points from last year.
Given the measures taken and current sowing progress, our export forecasts for the season (starting 1 July) are as follows: we expect to export 53–55 million tonnes of total grains, including 43–44 million tonnes of wheat. This would keep exports stable compared to this year’s level, accounting for carry-over stocks from the beginning of the season.
Speaking of Siberia and the Far East, they hold a special place in Russia’s grain production as key macroregions, contributing roughly 18 million tonnes. Last year, we finalised a project to map out agricultural lands across Russia, including Siberia and the Far East. We recognise Siberia as a major growth driver when it comes to bringing new land into cultivation – its potential for expanding farmland is already twice that of Central Russia.
Under Executive Order No. 309, we must increase production by 25 percent by 2030 – meaning Russia’s total grain harvest should reach roughly 170 million tonnes, with exports growing to 80 million tonnes. Siberia and the Far East are expected to contribute approximately 22 million tonnes of this volume.
This growth can be achieved by bringing new lands into cultivation. We have launched a dedicated programme for this purpose, along with a separate state programme for Siberia and the Far East, which is already underway.
This growth aligns with rising surpluses. Currently, Siberia and the Far East maintain an average surplus of 5 to 8 million tonnes, depending on harvests and weather conditions. For instance, as of 1 July this year, Siberia held about 5 million tonnes (including carry-over stocks), with seasonal surpluses typically reaching 7–8 million tonnes – representing volumes available for export beyond local consumption. Given projected growth, the region’s surplus could rise to 11–12 million tonnes, requiring corresponding export capacity.
Several logistics options exist for these exports. We are working closely with the Ministry of Transport and Russian Railways to coordinate shipments.
Siberia offers multiple export routes. Here is a brief overview of current grain logistics: 88 percent of Russia’s total grain exports move by sea, utilising the country’s port transshipment capacity of slightly more than 77 million tonnes. The remaining volumes are transported via road or river routes.
Domestically, grain reaches ports via road, rail, and river transport. In collaboration with the Ministry of Transport, we are evaluating multiple options to boost capacity – particularly for river shipments. Currently, we are testing alternative routes – we believe we can shift some rail volumes to river transport. It goes without saying that multimodal solutions also remain under active consideration.
This measure will also facilitate the transportation of grain from Siberia although we are currently in the trial phase with no fixed routes established. We aim to complete testing this year and launch next year.
Generally, our main ports are located in the south, as well as in the Baltic region, the Caspian Sea, and the Far East. Globally, the macroregion of Siberia is geographically distant from these ports hence the extended logistics.
Naturally, these circumstances make it impossible to transport grain without state support. It would be possible with a more affordable product that is inexpensive per se.
In cooperation with Russian Railways and the Federal Agency for Rail Transport, we are implementing joint support measures to subsidise operations. We fully subsidise railway rates.
As you mentioned, Resolution 406 primarily regulates grain transportation from Siberia to the south, the southern ports and the Baltic region. Indeed, we transported nearly 2 million tonnes from Siberia during the previous season.
We are actively developing this sector. As you also noted, just over 8 billion has been allocated this year, more than in 2024. We hope to sustain funding at 8 bln for this sector as it will certainly be challenging for Siberian companies to transport grain to the ports.
Kazakhstan serves as another export destination as Russia enjoys well-established economic ties with this country. Near-border trade with Kazakhstan typically accounts for two to three million tonnes, though this opportunity is contingent on temporary conditions. For example, last year, Kazakhstan had a substantial domestic harvest and introduced restrictions on grain imports, including from all EAEU countries. As a result, Russia was unable to export grain to Kazakhstan last year, which naturally resulted in more challenges for Siberian producers.
Therefore, the Trans-Baikal Grain Railway Terminal is becoming increasingly strategic for us. This is a relatively short transit route for Siberia and, in fact, for the other regions in the Far East producing exportable grains and oilseedsー mainly, for the Chinese market. With a project capacity of 8 million tonnes, the Trans-Baikal Grain Railway Terminal could handle 80 percent of the entire grain surplus to China. This highlights the potential of developing Siberia’s grain cluster.
The key challenge remains reaching an agreement with our Chinese partners on tariff-free grain imports. Unfortunately, right now, we cannot secure this arrangement. Our total exports to China stand at less than 1 million tonnes. We do supply limited quantities under small quotas but anything beyond these quotas is subject to China’s high grain tariffs. However, we are engaged in negotiations with our Chinese counterparts, supported by the Ministry of Economic Development through regular meetings. We are cautiously optimistic about securing expanded quotas with China though this may be a lengthy process, similar to our experience with pork exports in the past. Eventually, we succeeded. We do hope for a positive decision by our Chinese colleagues. Overall, we remain committed to developing logistics. Siberia is a strong growth driver for our grain sector, and we are counting on this region to help boost production volumes by 2030.
