Russia looks east in plans to expand grain export capacity

New grain handling facilities will increase export capacity and help target Asian consumers, Russia’s minister of agriculture Alexander Tkachev told senior lawmakers Tuesday.

TASS reports Tkachev telling members of Russia’s upper house, the Federation Council, that he foresees 30 million mt of additional export capacity over the next five years, with much of the infrastructure aimed at Asian markets that represent an increasing share in the proportion of Russia’s grain exports.

Citing the example of the Trans-Baikal facility at Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East, Tkachev spoke of the growing importance of Asia as a customer for Russia’s growing agricultural output.

Census analysis earlier in the month revealed the growing importance of Asian destinations for Russian sellers, Indonesia and Vietnam more than doubling their previous annual purchases in the first three months of the marketing year alone.

Additional export capacity will also become available at a new port at Taman on the Black Sea, currently Russia’s primary export route

Following construction, Russia will ship out as much as 120 million mt of grain exports by 2020, Tkachev told the Federation Council.

With a record harvest on its hands, logistics have been a cause for concern among some exporters who are braced for bottlenecks and delays.

Nonetheless, to date it has not been a major issue. The latest export figures put grain volumes from July 1-November 22 at 20.182 million mt, an increase of 27.6% on the previous marketing year. Wheat exports stand at 15.623 million mt, up 25.4%.

The Russian Ministry of Agriculture has forecast 45 million mt of grain exports for the 2017/18 marketing year, up from 35 million mt last year.