After quitting Black Sea deal, Russia raised grain exports to record level: list of buyers

Last month, Russia shipped 7.7 million tons of grain for export, according to data from the Russian Grain Union, which is a record figure for August in the last seven years. The exports exceeded the figure of August 2022 by 32%, the Russian news agency Interfax reports.

The increase in exports occurred after the withdrawal of the aggressor state from the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

In particular, the export of wheat from the Russian Federation amounted to 6.5 million tons, which is 36.6% more than in August 2022. The export of barley increased by 7% to 997,000 tons, and corn by almost 1.9 times to 212,000 tons.

In general, since the beginning of the 2023/2024 marketing year, which began on July 1, the Russian Federation exported 13.3 million tons of the main types of grain crops, which is 1.6 times more than in the first two months of the previous season. In particular, Russia exported 11 million tons of wheat (1.5 times more), which is also the highest figure in the last seven years.

The largest buyer of Russian wheat in August was Egypt, where 910,000 tons were shipped. In second place is Algeria: exports in this direction increased sevenfold – up to 610,000 tons. Third place was taken by Turkey with an indicator of 481,000 tons.

The top five buyers of Russian wheat in August also included Kenya (supply increased 12 times to 444,000 tons) and Bangladesh, where 319,000 tons were shipped. Last year in August, Russia did not export wheat to this country.

After Russia announced its withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, global grain prices went up once again.

Egypt criticized Russia for withdrawing from the grain agreement and said it would continue to buy Ukrainian grain through alternative routes.

In August, India was reportedly negotiating with Russia to import wheat at a discount.