Russia’s grain reserves in agricultural organisations have amounted to 8.367 million tonnes, excluding corn, so far this year up to July 1. This marked a devastating 47.3% drop when compared to data from the same period last year, when it amounted to 15.879 million tonnes. State statistics service Rosstat said wheat reserves fell to 4.951 million tonnes from 11.164 million tonnes in 2024, with farming bodies also having 1.041million tons of corn – 9.3% less than a year ago (1.147million tonnes), state news service Interfax reported. Moreover, grain reserves in procurement and processing enterprises as of July 1 amounted to 10.562million tonnes – 11.7% less than a year earlier (11.968million tonnes), including 7.916million tonnes of wheat (13.8% less).
Stocks of food wheat decreased by 13.4%, to 5.386 million tonnes, meanwhile, and rye reserves decreased by 31.2%, to 179,900 tonnes, including food rye reserves by 27.5%, to 140.7million tonnes. Barley reserves by 24.1%, to 950,700 tonnes, oats reserves by 15.8%, to 122,000 tonnes, and corn reserves increased by 8.8%, to 853,600 tonnes. However, stocks of cereal crops were significantly higher than last year – 179.4million tonnes of buckwheat (1.5 times more), 71,000 tonnes of millet (2.2 times more) and 35,000 tonnes of rice (1.6 times more).
A poor national harvest has seen yields down 14% due to bad weather in southern Russia.
Russia has boosted grain exports with crops from parts of Ukraine it controls following its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022, according to Reuters.
The Russian Agriculture Ministry has kept the grain harvest forecast at 135 million metric tonnes for this year, Minister for Agriculture Oksana Lut confirmed, according to the TASS news service on August 8.
“As regards harvesting in this season, certainly, we have difficulties in this regard,” she said. “We have strong rains in the center, in the Volga Federal District; we have the very difficult situation in the south due to drought.
“Nevertheless, owing to professionalism of our people, our sector, we are harvesting and hoping to have the grain harvest at the level of 135million tonnes.
“We do not change our forecasts in this regard thus far.”
Grain harvesting totalled more than 60million metric tons from the year start, and it was completed at about 40% of areas, Ms Lut also noted.
“All other crops are also being harvested proactively,” she added.
It comes after, on August 1, data suggested that freight volumes transported on the Russian Railways network amounted to 92.1 million tonnes in July 2025, representing a 5.4% decrease compared to July of the previous year.
TASS noted that a 35.6% contraction in grain shipments was attributed by Russian Railways to last year’s poor harvest and export quotas imposed on grain.
