Russia is one of the top twenty largest food exporters in the world

Russia is ranked 17th in the list of the world’s largest food exporters. It also made the biggest jump in the top 20 over the past decade, with exports increasing by 2.5 times. But Russia wants to sell even more food products abroad. It’s not even about feeding friendly countries. For some agricultural companies, finding new markets is a matter of survival. The domestic market is already overcrowded.
In 2022, Russia once again entered the list of the world’s twenty largest food exporters, taking 17th place in the ranking, reports the Federal State Budgetary Institution Agroexport under the Ministry of Agriculture. Russia has increased its share to 2.1%. “At the same time, among the top 20 countries, Russia showed the largest increase in the volume of agricultural exports over the past ten years – 2.5 times,” Agroexport notes.

In 2022, Russian exports of agricultural products grew by 12% to $41.6 billion. Including revenues from the sale of grain increased by 18%, oils and fats and meat products – by 25% and 23%, respectively, food and processing industry products – by 1.6%. Russian fish and seafood deliveries abroad decreased by 12%, dairy products by 1.9%.

A noticeable increase in the volume of exports of Russian agricultural products began in 2017 – by an average of 15% per year. The main acceleration of growth l occuredin 2020-2022 – by an average of 17.5% per year, notes Olga Belenkaya, head of the macroeconomic analysis department of the Finam financial group. If in 2019 Russia exported food worth $ 25.6 billion, then in 2022 – it had already reached $ 41.6 billion.
This growth can be linked precisely to the year 2014 and the first sanctions imposed on Russia,it then introduced a imported food embargo. This further pushed the state to support domestic production to ensure national food security. Seeing the state’s interest, benefits and support, new private investment flowed into the industry and new directions began to develop. These measures bore fruit in just a few years – in 2017, exports began to increase significantly. During the years of the pandemic and the recovery from it, exports have increased due to a sharp rise in global demand and rising food prices.

The industry has been able to greatly benefit from import substitution as a result of the embargo imposed by the Russian government in 2014 on agricultural products from the US, EU and several other countries. The rouble exchange rate has weakened significantly since 2014, which is a positive for exporters. In addition, agriculture has received significant government support under the State Programme for the Development of the Agro-Industrial Complex and the National Export Development Project,” says Belenkaya.

• Belenkaya says. In particular, in 2017 a preferential loan programme for the agricultural sector was launched, under which agricultural producers could take out a short-term or investment loan at a rate of 1% to 5% for the development of crop and livestock production, as well as for the construction, reconstruction or modernisation of enterprises for the processing of agricultural raw materials.

“The difficult global geopolitical situation, sanctions, a good harvest, the rapid adaptation of domestic enterprises to the new reality, as well as government support measures have led to an increase in Russian food exports,” agrees Dmitry Leonov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Rusprodsoyuz.

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Russia is one of the top twenty largest food exporters in the world

By Rhod Mackenzie Russia is ranked 17th in the list of the world’s largest food exporters. It also made the biggest jump in the top 20 over the past…