Russia is expected to harvest 130 million tons of grain in 2022, including 87 million tons of wheat, President Vladimir Putin said in early May.
“The 2022 grain harvest may substantially exceed last year’s level and reach the amount mentioned by the president in his speech, and come close, in fact, to the maximum,” Dmitry Patrushev told a grain conference on Friday.
Russia produced a record grain harvest of 133.5 million tons in 2020, including 85.9 million tons of wheat. The harvest would have been smaller in 2021.
Patrushev said that Russia exported more than 35 million tons of grain, including 28.5 million tons of wheat, this season. He did not give an estimate of wheat exports for the new season.
Exports of grain and other commodities from Russia continue despite a lack of ships, as many large ship owners have stopped working with Moscow due to Western sanctions.
Patrushev said his ministry is in talks with the state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation about building grain export ships to address the shortage.
