Over the past 20 years, Russia has risen to the second place in global trade of sunflower oil, meal, and rapeseed oil, - Mal'tsev.

On February 9, the Day of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food Industry was held at the international exhibition forum "Russia" in Moscow. One of the topics of the business program of the event was the development of agricultural exports. 

Participants of the panel session "Key Challenges in Ensuring Russia's Leadership in the Global Agricultural Market" discussed the dynamics of export indicators during the implementation period of the Federal Project "Export of Agricultural Products," as well as the further tasks facing suppliers of grain, oilseed, meat, dairy, and processed food products. 

The discussion was opened by the Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Russia, Sergey Levin. He noted that the development of agricultural exports is driven by expanding cooperation between Russia and friendly countries. In 2023, deliveries to such countries increased by 20%, with their share reaching 88% of the total volume. In particular, exports to China increased by 52% last year, to Brazil by 60%, to India by 46%, and to Egypt by 13%. 

In the future, it is important to ensure the synchronization of the development of logistics infrastructure and the increase in the export potential of the agricultural sector. In 2022, Russia ranked 17th in the world among exporters of agricultural products, as reminded by the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Agricultural Issues, Vladimir Kashin. The goal is to at least enter the top 10. 

"Ahead of us are Poland, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands. We must set clear goals before us and strive for the achievements we desire," Kashin urged. He emphasized the need to define targets for increasing production, expanding the share of exports of processed products, such as flour, and developing logistics. Since 2000, Russian agricultural exports have grown more than 30 times and exceeded $45 billion by the end of 2023. "I draw your attention to the expansion of geography. 

On our map are Mexico, Indonesia, Brazil, African countries, and everywhere there is tremendous growth," emphasized Dmitry Krasnov, the head of the Federal Center "Agroexport." For some countries, Russia has already become the largest supplier: wheat for Turkey, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, barley for Saudi Arabia and Turkey, sunflower oil for China and India, pork for Vietnam, poultry for Azerbaijan. Russia is also the number one supplier of frozen fish in the world market. 

"What helped us achieve these results? Of course, the systematic implementation of the Federal project. Over 6 years, Rosselkhoznadzor, together with the Ministry of Agriculture, has opened more than 100 countries for more than 250 types of products. There are 44 attaches in 42 countries, and last year attaches accompanied 170 contracts totaling $2.2 billion. Agroexport has brought in 3,000 foreign companies and organized meetings as part of our business missions, which also provides systematic support to exporters," listed Krasnov. 

Top industry union leaders and leading producers of agricultural products shared key achievements and tasks in the export sector. For example, grain shipments reached a record of 60 million tons by the end of the 2022/23 season, with shipments expected to rise to 65 million tons in 2023/24, according to Eduard Zernin, Chairman of the Board of the Grain Exporters Union. "Exports are steadily growing.

 Moreover, in the first half of this season, we achieved new records, which are ensured by the readiness of Russian exporters to compete on par with global companies and their ability to consolidate the necessary volumes within the country," Zernin said. Success in foreign markets is achieved through increasing domestic production: over the last 9 years, grain harvests in Russia have exceeded 100 million tons. In the new 2024/25 season, the gross harvest is expected to exceed 120 million tons. 

The achievements of grain exporters on foreign markets would have been impossible without the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rosselkhoznadzor, noted Marina Turyanskaya, Director of TD "RIF." "It is precisely the state-business tandem that allows us to implement our ambitious plans and push out Western grain from foreign markets. In recent years, we have become leaders in the tenders of the Egyptian GASC, the market of Saudi Arabia has been opened, followed by Algeria, Vietnam, Indonesia," Turyanskaya reminded. Over the past 20 years, Russia has taken 2nd place in the world trade of sunflower oil, sunflower meal, and rapeseed oil, 4th place - in soybean oil and rapeseed meal, and 9th place - in soybean meal. 

"But if we take rapeseed and soy and look at the place we occupy among those who supply this non-GMO rapeseed and soy-based products, then we are in the first place. In my opinion, this is a key advantage that we should position ourselves on," believes Mikhail Maltsev, Executive Director of the Fat-and-Oil Union. According to him, for further increasing production and exports, optimization of infrastructure and logistics chains, as well as support for seed and pesticide production, are necessary. 

Russia has become a net exporter of meat and will maintain this status in the coming years, expressed confidence by Sergey Yushin, Head of the National Meat Association. The country is already among the top ten largest global meat suppliers, with the next ambitious goal being to enter the top 5. "The Russian domestic market is, of course, a priority. 

However, we can stop development without exports, which brings many positive effects. In addition to increasing production, it brings profitability and income growth, and consequently, increased wages in rural areas. Export also stimulates the adoption of new technologies, traceability systems, biosecurity, veterinary service development," emphasized Yushin. 

One of the most significant events of the past year was the opening of the Chinese market for Russian pork deliveries. Viktor Linnik, President of Miratorg, expressed hope that enterprises would be registered after the Chinese New Year and shipments would begin approximately a month after that. "The potential is enormous. 

For Russia, over the next 5-10 years, this means hundreds of billions of additional investments and new jobs," Linnik pointed out. In recent years, the main development and the main share of investments in the poultry industry were due to exports, existing support measures, and the Federal Project, noted Sergey Lakhtyukhov, General Director of the National Poultry Farmers Union: "When we talk about export goals, I would like to focus on the basic tasks that the state and the industry have. 

The main task is food security. The second is ensuring the profitability of enterprises because without it, there will be no asset modernization or necessary production volumes. It is precisely systematic and substantial export that ensures the implementation of these two tasks, providing the necessary investments in the industry and mitigating risks associated with veterinary medicine and sharp changes in consumer demand by redirecting necessary volumes to the domestic market while maintaining strategic directions." 

The year 2023 was largely a turning point for the dairy industry. "We are shifting the paradigm: from import substitution, we are moving towards an export-oriented paradigm. As world experience and the experience of other sectors of the Russian agricultural industry show, exports are the instrument that largely helps to balance the