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2011.12.12 | Experts doubt Russia to export 18 mln tns of grain by 2012

On Tuesday, First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov said Russia, the world's third-largest grain exporter before the worst drought in decades killed one-third of the country’s grain crops in 2010, intended to export 18 million tonnes by the end of 2011 as compared to an earlier evaluation of 17 million tonnes.

“If we do 17 million tonnes by the year-end, it would be very good,” Arkady Zlochevsky from Russian Grain Union said. “It is obvious that we will not achieve 18 (million tonnes of grain). We sharply cut shipments in November, and infrastructure possibilities do not allow (us to do that),” he added.

Vladimir Petrichenko from ProZerno analytical company echoes him, saying that despite high export growth rates, “It is unlikely that exports will amount to 2.7 million tonnes in December,” he said.

Petrichenko also said that Russia exported 15 million tonnes after the grain embargo was lifted on July 1.

Russian agriculture companies gathered 97.8 million tonnes of grain in bunker weight as of November 25, Agriculture Minister Yelena Skrynnik said.

PRIME-TASS