Russia's April seaborne grain exports fell 61 per cent to 2.4m tons

Russia's seaborne grain exports dropped by 61.3 per cent year-on-year in April to 2.4 million tonnes, according to shipping data from industry sources released on Wednesday.

Russia, the world's leading wheat exporter, shipped grain to global markets at a record pace during the first part of the 2024/25 marketing season, which began on July 1 of last year. However, the introduction of export quotas in February led to a sharp decline in exports.

Total seaborne exports have reached 42.4 million tonnes this season, falling by 16.6 per cent compared to the previous year, according to the data.

For the entire 2024/2025 season, Russia's grain exports are expected to fall by one-fifth from the previous season's record, reaching 55-57 million tonnes, due to a harvest affected by bad weather, according to the Agriculture Ministry.

Exports via the Black Sea terminals dropped by 61.2 per cent to almost 2.2 million tonnes.

Exports through the Caspian Sea, primarily targeting Iran, were completely stopped in April, compared to 0.37 million tonnes in April 2024.

Grain exports from Baltic Sea terminals, which supply Russian grain to new markets, including West Africa and Latin America, decreased by 31.5 per cent in April to 0.16 million tonnes, 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; Editing by Gleb Bryanski)