Russian seaborne grain exports plummet in February

Russia's seaborne grain exports dropped by 52.3 per cent year-on-year in February to 2.4 million tonnes, shipping data from industry sources showed on Wednesday.

Russia, the world's top wheat exporter, shipped grain to global markets at a record pace in the first part of the 2024/25 marketing season, which began on July 1 last year, but a February export quota and bad weather at ports led to a sharp decline in exports.

Total seaborne exports have reached nearly 37.7 million tonnes this season, which is 4.1 per cent down compared with the previous year, according to the data.

Over the whole 2024/2025 season Russia's grain exports will fall by one-fifth from the prior season's record to 55-57 million tonnes, after the harvest was hit by bad weather, according to the agriculture ministry.

Exports from Black Sea terminals, targeting Russia's traditional customers in the Middle East, fell by 44.2 per cent to almost 2.0 million tonnes, while exports through the Caspian Sea, which mostly go to Iran, fell 62.3 per cent to 0.2 million tonnes, the data showed.

Grain exports from Baltic Sea terminals surged by 654 per cent in February, confirming their growing significance in covering new markets for Russian grain, including West Africa and Latin America, according to the data.

Seaborne exports accounted for about 90 per cent of Russia's total grain exports last season. Last year Russia exported about 62 million tonnes of grain through its sea terminals, according to analysts' estimates.

(Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov and Olga Popova; Editing by Louise Heavens)