Production of wheat flour will reach 10.3 million tonnes, while rye flour will decrease to 500 thousand tonnes in 2024, according to the Russian Union of Flour and Cereals Enterprises.

In the report on the XIX business conference "Modern Flour Production - 2024," the Russian Union of Milling and Groats Enterprises reports that the volume of flour production this year is expected to reach 10.3 million tons, which is an increase compared to 9.85 million tons in 2023. In particular, the output of wheat flour will increase from 9.3 million tons to almost 9.7 million tons, while the production of rye flour will decrease from 536 thousand tons to 500 thousand tons. Taking into account small-scale mills not included in the general statistics, the union estimates the production of wheat flour at 13.5 million tons.

The union's president, Igor Sviridenko, stated at the conference that there is a sufficient supply of raw materials for flour production. The quality of wheat this year satisfies the milling enterprises. A presentation containing data from the Federal Center for Safety and Quality Assessment of Agricultural Products reports that the harvested third-class wheat this year can amount to 24.8 million tons, compared to 21.3 million tons last year. Sviridenko assessed this volume as quite sufficient for producing flour that meets GOST standards, both for the domestic market and for export.

However, the production of rye flour is steadily declining. This is due to the reduction of the rye cultivation area in Russia, high prices for rye grain, and the economic impracticality of its purchase for flour production. According to the union's forecast, this year 1.3 million tons of rye will be harvested, compared to 1.7 million tons in 2023 and 2.2 million tons in 2022. Sviridenko believes that the maximum that can be expected is 1 million tons of rye for flour production after subtracting the grain intended for sowing and technical purposes.

The chairman of the board of directors of the company "AgroProm", Arkadiy Gurevich, predicts that even less rye will be harvested in 2025 - a maximum of 1.2 million tons. According to his data, the purchase price for rye grain for milling enterprises is 16.5 thousand rubles per ton, which leads to a cost price of rye flour amounting to 23-25 thousand rubles per ton. Sviridenko suggests that rye bread could become a popular dish in Russian cuisine restaurants if there is interest in reviving the national culinary tradition.