As Africa’s wheat demand soars, Russia has become a dominant supplier, covering a third of the continent’s market. In this exclusive interview, Ksenia Bolomatova, Executive Director of RusGrain Union, discusses how Russia is strengthening its position in Africa, while also sharing insights on the Union’s expanded mission, future grain export projections, and the strategic BRICS grain exchange initiative.

As the world’s largest wheat exporter and one of the top producers of grain, Russia plays a decisive role in global food security and agricultural trade. Its policies, infrastructure investments, and international partnerships directly shape supply flows from the Black Sea to markets across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

At the heart of these developments stands the RusGrain Union, an organization that recently expanded its scope to unite both exporters and producers. Speaking exclusively to Miller Magazine, Ksenia Bolomatova, Executive Director of the Russian Union of Grain Exporters and Producers (RusGrain Union), outlines their mission, the infrastructure challenges, and the opportunities on the horizon.

“Our task today is not limited to advancing Russian grain and pulses into the international market,” Bolomatova emphasizes. “The Union is involved in ensuring sustainable food security in the country and in the world.” With Russia expected to export over 40 million tons of wheat this season, she affirms the country’s leadership position: “Russia will remain the global wheat export leader, without a doubt.”

Looking ahead, Bolomatova points to Africa as a particularly dynamic market, noting that Russian wheat exports to the continent have grown by 30% across six seasons. “Africa’s market has strong growth potential due to population growth and rising purchasing power,” she explains, while underlining the need for infrastructure, storage, and processing investments to realize that potential.

Beyond exports, she highlights the strategic importance of the planned BRICS grain exchange, backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Bolomatova emphasized that the initiative would help BRICS countries form independent and fair price indicators, making global agricultural pricing more objective and strengthening food security.

Ksenia Bolomatova, Executive Director of RusGrain Union, shared her insights with Miller Magazine, discussing the Union’s expanded mission, Russia’s grain export goals, and the strategic initiatives shaping the future of global grain trade. Below are her reflections:

RUSSIA’S GRAIN ROADMAP TO 2030

Mrs. Bolomatova, in 2024 the Union changed its name to the Russian Union of Grain Exporters and Producers. What prompted this change? What do you see as a key mission of the Union?

The RusGrain Union took a major step forward by expanding its scope and activities. Today, it brings together the largest Russian grain producers and exporters. Since its establishment in 2019, the Union has facilitated effective interaction between Russian business, government and international grain market players. That support helped the Union`s members to respond rapidly to multiple challenges they faced: the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent supply chain breakdowns in 2020-2021, sanctions, and other challenges faced by importers in various countries, where Rusgrain Union acted as a mediator to resolve the issues. 

Moreover, the close cooperation with Russian federal agencies and their foreign counterparts enabled to open up new markets for Russian grain such as China, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria. And those collective efforts have borne fruit: Russia retains its place as the world’s largest exporter of wheat for seasons clearly. 

President Putin has set new ambitious goals for Russian agricultural sector with the country aiming to produce at least 170 million tons of grain and pulses by 2030 and export over 80 million tons. This task requires that all key players on the grain market, including agricultural producers, exporters, carries and specialized port terminals, consolidate efforts, resources and responsibilities. 

The Rusgrain Union currently incorporates more than 50 members, both large agricultural holdings and exporters, and we expect logistic operators and financial institutions to join soon. Today, our mission is not limited to advancing Russian grain and pulses into the international market, the Union is involved in ensuring sustainable food security in the country and in the world. 

EXPANDING RUSSIA’S EXPORT CAPACITY

That sounds ambitious. Is Russia able to export such volumes?

This is our main goal, and we are doing our best to achieve it. Russian grain exports hit a record high in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 marketing seasons and that highlighted the areas for improvement. This primarily concerns increasing the transshipment capacities of deep-water grain terminals. 

In the 2023/24 marketing season, the grain terminals in Novorossiysk handled a record 24.6 million tons of cargo, despite a total rated capacity of 22.6 million tons. A lack of sufficient export infrastructure could lead to a failure to meet national targets. In this direction major development projects were launched under “International Cooperation and Export” National Project and are being successfully implemented. 

Among other things, it is planned to increase the transshipment capacity of deep water grain terminals and to develop railway and road approaches in order to develop the transport infrastructure of Russia’s southern regions in the Azov and the Black Sea basins. By 2028, due to modernization the aggregate capacity of Novorossiysk’s three grain terminals, the main gateway for export, will grow from 24.1 million tons to 36.6 million tons.

RUSSIA’S WHEAT OUTLOOK

Looking ahead to the 2025/26 season, what are your projections for Russia`s grain production and trade? Will Russia maintain its leadership in wheat exports?

The Russian Ministry of Agriculture forecasts the wheat production this year at 90 million tons. Since domestic consumption is under 50 million tons, Russia is expected to export over 40 million tons.

In the previous two years, we faced harvest challenges due to the impact of unfavorable weather conditions. As a result, grain production in 2024 saw a decline to 125,9 million tons. This year the southern parts of the country have been particularly hard hit by the drought, but a good grain crop in the Central Region and Volga valley helps offset this.

Russia will remain the global wheat export leader, without a doubt. The closest competitor, the European Union, expects the wheat export for the year 2025/26 to be around 32.5 million tons.

WHERE RUSSIA’S WHEAT FLOWS

As you noted, Russia is the world’s largest exporter of wheat. Have there been any notable shifts in export destinations?

The top export destinations have remained fairly consistent over recent years, with MENA buyers dominating Russia’s grain exports. In 2024/25 marketing season key wheat-importing countries included Egypt, Turkey, Bangladesh, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Algeria. It is quite natural that customer’s import needs can change over time depending on their own production. For example, wheat exports to Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan dropped in 2024/25, but are seeing recovery and significant growth. There is tremendous growth potential for wheat export to Africa, driven by economic development and rising demand from population.

THE BRICS GRAIN EXCHANGE INITIATIVE

Could you please update us on the idea of the BRICS grain exchange? Is it still moving forward? 

In 2024, the initiative to create a BRICS grain exchange, promoted by the Union and supported by President Putin and BRICS business communities, was approved. BRICS countries include the world’s largest grain producers and consumers — Russia, China, India, Brazil, as well as major importers like Egypt, Iran, and Indonesia. The BRICS countries account for almost 50% of production and consumption of grains in the world.

Russia contributes 20-25% of global wheat trade; Brazil leads corn exports; China is both a major producer and the largest grain importer. This grain exchange will help BRICS form independent and fair price indicators within the bloc, making global agricultural pricing more objective and strengthening food security.

Building this exchange is complex, requiring cooperation among regulators, financial institutions, governments, and industry groups. Key topics include trading rules, admission procedures, and settlement methods. We expect foundational agreements to be part of the upcoming XVII BRICS summit declaration in Brazil.

What specific contributions will RusGrain Union make toward the development of the BRICS grain exchange?

Our work focuses on three practical goals:

1. Promoting Russian sustainable food security by advancing investment-attractive crop production and innovative agricultural technologies. We cooperate with scientific communities and breeders to develop optimal seeds and production methods.

2. Increasing competitiveness of Russian grains globally, including improving transport infrastructure and providing analytical support — offering comprehensive data on global grain supply and trade balances.

3. Enhancing market regulation to support producers and exporters, including the development of financial infrastructure with delivery derivatives, risk management tools, and exchange trading for non-residents based on FOB terms.

We will continue developing the BRICS grain exchange as part of these efforts.

RUSSIA’S EXPANDING GRAIN FOOTPRINT IN AFRICA

Africa has become an increasingly important destination for Russian wheat. Could you highlight the dynamics shaping this growth?

Africa imports about 60 million tons of wheat annually — nearly double the amount from 20 years ago. Russia has expanded exports to Africa by 30% over six seasons, accounting for a third of the African wheat market today across 30 countries. We’ve seen sharp export increases to countries like Algeria, Libya, Kenya, Morocco, Tunisia, and Tanzania. Africa’s market has strong growth potential due to population growth and rising purchasing power.

However, Africa is diverse, with five distinct subregions requiring different approaches. We engage directly with North African countries, while cooperation with Central and Southern African nations often involves international traders due to infrastructure constraints. To expand Russian grain supplies, a comprehensive approach addressing logistics, storage, and processing is essential — and steps are underway in this direction.