had exported 15.377 million tonnes of wheat, 2,111 tonnes of barley, 3.106 million tonnes of maizeand253 tonnes of industrial crops – 47.3 per cent more than in 2013, according to figures from the Russian Agriculture Ministry.Grain exports for the period from 1 to 31 March 2014 amounted to 2,015 million tonnes. This included 1.296 million tons of wheat, 102 tonnes of barley, 593 tonnes of maize, 24 tonnes of other crops.
Russian Ministry of Agriculture experts believe that one of the reasons for the decline in world market prices of grain was improved weather conditions in areas of wheat production in the United States.
The average export prices for soft wheat in the United States was $277 per tonne on 3 April, a fall of 6.1 per cent on the previous week.
In this agricultural year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture estimates, Russian grain exports will reach 22 million tonnes. Last year Russia exported 16 million tonnes of grain.
The President of the Russian Grain Union Arkady Zlochevsky believes that grain exports from the Crimea will reach half a million tonnes.
In the current season because of a crop failure Crimea produced 1.3 million tonnes of grain. On average, the Crimea can produce 1.5 to 2 million tonnes of grain.
Mr Zlochevsky said that previously seeds, fuel and fertiliser were delivered from Ukraine, but now those supplies had stopped and this could mean that Crimea will not sow its optimum crop this year.
