Exports of grain and oilseed cargoes from the Russian seaports: results of 2018

According to the recent monitoring of APK-Inform Agency, in 2018 the export volumes of the major grain crops through the ports of Russia exceeded the same figures in 2017 by 28%, and totaled 49 mln tonnes. Also, in 2018 the ports increased the export volumes of by-products from the major oilseeds (sunflower seed, soybeans, rapeseed) by 5% compared with the figures of 2017, which totaled nearly 3 mln tonnes. The current article provides more detailed information about the export structure of the key grain crops and oilseed by-products.

Grain shipments

According to the monitoring reports by APK-Inform Agency, in 2018 the Russian sea and river ports shipped 49.07 mln tonnes of major grain crops for exports, an increase of 28% compared with the same figures in 2017 (38.229 mln tonnes, taking into account the updated figures).

Taking into account the general transshipment volumes of major grains in 2018, the TOP-3 covered the following ports:

Novorossiysk — 18.542 mln tonnes

Kavkaz — 12.392 mln tonnes

Taman — 4.371 mln tonnes

In the reporting period, Russia exported the following volumes of the major grains:

Wheat — 40.744 mln tonnes

Corn — 3.759 mln tonnes

Barley — 4.567 mln tonnes

PJSC Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port became the leader by the transshipment of both wheat, corn and barley.

Export geography of the main grain by the Russian ports

In 2018, Russia exported the maximum volumes of grains to Egypt (9.446 mln tonnes). Turkey took the second position — 7.16 mln tonnes. Vietnam (2.567 mln tonnes) became the third major country-importer of Russian grains.

As for the supplies of certain crops to other countries, Egypt still kept its leading positions by the imports of wheat — 9.385 mln tonnes.

In 2018, Turkey became the leader by Russian corn imports (1.2 mln tonnes).

In 2018, Saudi Arabia imported the largest volumes of Russian barley (1.7 mln tonnes).

Shipment of the major oilseed by-products

According to the monitoring data by APK-Inform experts, in 2018 Russia shipped 3.195 mln tonnes of by-products of the major oilseeds (oils and meals), an increase of 5% compared with the same figures in 2017 (3.06 mln tonnes, taking into account the updated figures). At the same time, the general volume of vegetable oils exports decreased by 7%, and totaled 1.954 mln tonnes, and the volume of oilseed meals exports of increased by 31%, and totaled 1.241 mln tonnes.

Taking into account the general transshipment volumes of by-products from the major oilseeds (sunflower seed, soybeans, rapeseed) in 2018, the TOP-3 covered the following ports:

Kaliningrad — 1.483 mln tonnes

Rostov-on-Don — 928 thsd tonnes

Novorossiysk — 275 thsd tonnes

Export geography of vegetable oils and meals by the Russian ports

In 2018, the general export volumes of sunflower oil by the river and sea ports of Russia decreased by 25%, and totaled 1.126 mln tonnes. According to the monitoring provided by APK-Inform experts, in 2018 Turkey imported the largest volumes of Russian sunflower oil (362 thsd tonnes), down 23% compared with 2017. In 2018, the export volumes of rapeseed oil exceeded the figures of 2017 by 44%, and totaled 194 thsd tonnes. The largest volumes were shipped to Norway (154 thsd tonnes). In 2018, the export volumes of soybean oil totaled 634 thsd tonnes, up 35% compared with the volumes of 2017 (469 thsd tonnes). In 2018, Algeria (157 thsd tonnes) became the leading country-importer of Russian soybean oil.

According to the monitoring data by APK-Inform experts, in 2018 the general export volumes of oilseed meals by the Russian sea and river ports totaled 1.241 mln tonnes, up 31% compared with 2017. In 2018, Kaliningrad Sea Commercial Port JSC took the leading position in oilseed meals transshipment, which even exceeded 677 thsd tonnes.

In 2018, the export volumes of sunflower meal by the Russian ports decreased by 6% compared with 2017, and totaled 562 thsd tonnes. Turkey purchased the maximum volumes — 345 thsd tonnes. In 2018, the export volumes of rapeseed meal increased by 24% compared with 2017, and totaled 149 thsd tonnes. The maximum volumes were shipped to Finland (80 thsd tonnes). In 2018, soybean meal exports totaled 530 thsd tonnes, against 230 thsd tonnes in 2017. The Netherlands became the leading country-importer — 97 thsd tonnes.

The provided figures confirm the active development of the export component of the Russian grain market, which not only increased the supplies to the traditional destinations, but also entry into new markets. At the same time, Saudi Arabia reported about its readiness to become a hub in the Middle East for Russian grains. In addition, Russia plans to expand the range of export destinations, including Indonesia, Latin America, etc.

In terms of the active realization of the current export potential in Russia, there is a fairly wide range of various infrastructure problems, which not only slow down the growth of exports and expansion of the geography of supplies, but also significantly worsen the work of domestic farmers. The list of major problems:

— high transportation costs for the delivery of grains, which are seriously affecting the profitability of production of farmers from various midland regions: Siberia, Volga region, Central Russia;

— catastrophic deficit of grain storing capacities;

— low number of grain processing plants, which would partially solve the problem with the storage of products, and meet the domestic needs in crop by-products, which Russian mainly imports.

Konstantin Zeikin, APK-Inform Agency