China has lifted restrictions on the supply of corn and rice from Russia.

Russia and China signed an addendum amending the Protocol on Phytosanitary Requirements for Corn, Rice, Soybeans and Rapeseed, according to which corn and rice can now be exported to China from all regions of Russia. Now supplies are limited to the Primorsky, Trans-Baikal, Khabarovsk territories, the Amur region and the Jewish Autonomous Region, Rosselkhoznadzor reported.

According to independent grain market expert Alexander Korbut, exporting corn to China from the European territory of the country is the most rational, since most of it is produced there. “Corn deliveries are always large - by bulk carrier, and a 25 thousand ton ship is considered small for this crop. In this regard, the agreement on exports from the entire territory of Russia is an important point that creates a very good sales market,” Korbut commented to Agroinvestor.

If the addition to the protocol begins to work soon, and no additional restrictions stand in the way of exporters, the signed agreement will be an opportunity to realize good volumes from this year’s record corn harvest. According to Korbut, the potential for shipments generally depends on the harvest and the offered price. But the Chinese market, including corn, is large, and this is a good niche where millions of tons of this crop can be exported.

At the same time, despite the lifting of restrictions, it is unlikely that rice supplies to China will be significant, Korbut believes. Firstly, China itself produces it in large volumes. Secondly, there are many other countries in Southeast Asia near the republic from which it can be imported. “There is probably a certain niche for short-grain rice, but I don’t think it will be significant. Moreover, rice is a complex and expensive crop: it requires a lot of water for cultivation and good technology. This is, rather, the potential for trade,” the expert concluded.

Earlier, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said that Russia is ready to increase supplies of agricultural products to China, Interfax reported. According to the Agroexport center under the Ministry of Agriculture, Russia exported more than 5.5 million tons of agricultural products to China over the eight months of this year, which is 2.7 times more than during the same period in 2022. In value terms, exports increased 1.9 times. This dynamics allowed the PRC to become a leader among buyers of Russian agricultural products.

Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov noted that Russia plans to significantly increase exports to China by 2030, as a result of which trade turnover between the countries should grow to $300 billion (over 11 months of 2023 - more than $201). Such dynamics will be associated, among other things, with the increase in trade turnover in agricultural products, Izvestia wrote.

Reshetnikov recalled that China had previously allowed the supply of Russian pork. He emphasized that Russian pork producers have excess capacity, and the Chinese market has great consumption potential. At the same time, trade, economic and investment interaction between Russia and China meets the interests of both countries, the minister is confident.