According to information from the General Administration of Customs of China, China increased buckwheat imports from Russia by 1.8 times from January to August, reaching $61.5 million, which is $16.9 million more than the previous year.
Russia is the main supplier of this agricultural product to China, but also purchases buckwheat from seven other countries, such as Bolivia ($4.3 million) and Canada ($3.7 million) over the 8 months.
In August, the volume of buckwheat shipments increased to $10 million compared to $7.5 million in July.
In 2023, Russia harvested 1.48 million tons of buckwheat, which is 20% more than in 2022, but in 2024, the acreage under this crop decreased by 15.1% to 1.092 million hectares.
In addition, China increased imports of Russian oats by 100% over 8 months, reaching $34.7 million.
Buyers of oats from China choose them from four countries, with Australia accounting for the largest share ($61.4 million), followed by Russia. Oats are also supplied from Canada and the USA.
Oat production in Russia decreased to 3.3 million tons in 2023, which is 27.8% less than the previous year, and the area under this crop decreased by 10.5% to 1.708 million hectares.