UPDATE 1-Russian grain exporters lobby sees 2025 wheat exports at 40 mln tons

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MOSCOW, Dec 23 (Reuters) – Russia’s grain export potential is seen at 45 million metric tons in 2025, including 40 million tons of wheat, the country’s Grain Exporters and Producers Union said on Monday.

The Union said the figure referred to volumes in the second half of the 2024/25 exporting season, when exports are limited by a government quota introduced to improve domestic supply. It also refers to the first half of 2025/26 exporting season, when there is no quota.

The quota, which takes effect on Feb. 15, allows exports of 10.6 million tons of wheat and meslin, a mixture of wheat and rye.

The Union estimated grain exports in January 2025 at 3 million metric tons and in the first half of February at 1.5 million metric tons before the quota takes effect.

The Union estimated total exports in the first half of 2025 at about 15 million tons.

It said that if winter crops recover and the next year’s grain harvest exceeds 130 million tons, Russia, the world’s largest wheat exporter, could export another 30 million tons of grain, including 25 million tons of wheat, in the second half of the year.

“Demand from the main importers of Russian grain remains stable, as our home region MENA (Middle East and North Africa) is far from self-sufficiency,” the Union said in a statement, adding that Russia maintained a strong position in Egypt and Algeria.

The Union highlighted rising demand from Africa due to its rapidly growing population, noting that exports to Nigeria have already exceeded 1 million tons in the current exporting season. (Reporting by Olga Popova, writing by Gleb Bryanski; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Jane Merriman)

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