Cereal import volume in Russia 2000/2001-2023/2024

In the crop year 2023/2024, Russia's cereal imports were forecast to reach 0.59 million metric tons. The import volume of that commodity fluctuated over the past decade. Over the observed period, the highest cereal imports were recorded at over 2.7 million metric tons in marketing year 2000/2001.

What cereals does Russia import and from where?

The most imported cereals in Russia were rice, corn, rye and wheat. Russian wheat and meslin imports exceeded 123,000 metric tons in 2021. Imports of grains from Kazakhstan stood at over 157,000 metric tons in that year. Thus, that country was the leading origin of grain imports in Russia.

Cereal import substitution in Russia

Russian introduced a food embargo from the European Union, the United States as well as other Western countries in 2014. The country followed the import substitution path by increasing financial support to the agricultural sector and became the global leader in wheat exports, overtaking the U.S. and Canada. In 2021, Russia increased food and agricultural product imports by over 14 percent compared to the previous year.