Russia has a record rice harvest

Russian agrarians have renewed the record for rice harvest in 2024, the press service of the Agriculture Ministry said on December 30.

"According to preliminary data, the harvest amounted to more than 1.2 million tons, which is 17% higher than last year's level," the ministry said.

It also noted that the area of rice crops in Russia is about 207 thousand hectares. Almost two-thirds of production falls on the Krasnodar region, in 2024 the rice harvest in the region amounted to 829 thousand tons. The crop is also successfully cultivated in the Republic of Dagestan, the Rostov Region, the Chechen Republic and the Primorsky Territory. By 2030 it is planned to reach the figures up to 2 million tons, which will allow not only to fully meet domestic needs, but also to create a good export potential.

According to Igor Lobach, Chairman of the Board of the National Rice Union Association, the record rice harvest in 2024 allowed to maintain wholesale prices of rice groats at the level of 2022. At the same time, within five years, Russian rice growers intend to increase the area to 275 thousand hectares, mainly in the Astrakhan region and Primorsky Krai, and increase the yield of the crop by 10 c/ha, he noted.

On November 7, Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut at a meeting of the Russian government also reported that this year the Russian Federation has already harvested 1.1 million tons of rice, and the expected size of the harvest is 1.2 million tons. Such a figure will be a record for this crop, Lut added. In addition, she pointed out that Russian agrarians have already harvested 128 million tons of grain, having cultivated 97% of sown areas.