MINERALNYE VODY. May 26 (Interfax) - Russia could resume exporting rice once the harvest reaches 2 million tonnes per year, Roman Nekrasov, Director of the Agriculture Ministry's Department of Crop Production, Mechanization, Chemicalization and Plant Protection, said on Monday at the Caucasus Investment Forum.
"Restoring rice paddies is our strategic goal; good prospects for exports. We understand that as soon as our gross harvest reaches 2 million tonnes, and we are not that far from this milestone, rice exports will resume," Nekrasov said.
Nekrasov emphasized that rice is a promising crop in the regions of the North Caucasus Federal District (NCFD), and that it could become the base crop in irrigated crop rotations.
The regions of the NCFD should grow 323,900 tonnes of rice annually by 2030, according to Nekrasov's presentation. Last year's production volume totaled 172,900 tonnes.
As reported, the Russian government banned rice exports on July 1, 2022, owing to an accident at the Fyodorovsky dam in the Krasnodar Territory, Russia's primary rice-producing region, which occurred in April, resulting a reduction in the rice harvest to 920,100 tonnes in 2022. The ban's goal is to provide the domestic market with rice cereals. The ban was initially in force until December 31, 2022, and it has been extended every six months. It is currently in force until June 30, 2025.
The Economic Development Ministry's press release emphasized that the measure's goal has been to meet the needs of the domestic market, thus maintaining price stability and preventing a shortage of the product.
Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) data indicate that Russia harvested a record 1.259 million tonnes of rice in 2024 compared to 1.073 million tonnes the previous year.
The Agriculture Ministry expects the Fyodorovsky hydroelectric complex to relaunch operations after reconstruction by 2027.
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