Русский
Russia is targeting large markets in Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Bangladesh for grain exports, according to Ilya Ilyushin, head of state export agency Agroexport. The new grain marketing season began on July 1.
Russia is the world’s largest wheat exporter and is seeking to diversify agricultural exports beyond traditional buyers such as Egypt and Turkiye, as they periodically suspend imports to support domestic producers.
Ilyushin said that “Our goal is to enter the Southeast Asian market. This includes not only Vietnam and Bangladesh, but also Malaysia and the Philippines. These are large countries with significant purchasing power and grain imports.” Combined, these countries have a population of 421.93 million.
Bangladesh became the third-largest buyer of Russian wheat last season, while Russia boosted wheat supplies to Vietnam fourfold.
Russia expects to achieve a 4% larger grain harvest of 135 million tons in 2025, despite drought in some regions, and plans to export 45 million tons of wheat in the current season, compared with 44 million tons last season.
Eduard Zernin, a board member of Russia’s Grain Producers and Exporters Union, said that Russia is likely to face tough competition from Australia, the United States, and Canada in Southeast Asia. He stated, “This is a powerful group with ambitious competitors. They have their own goals and objectives and their own ways of doing business. We need to be prepared for tougher competition.”
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