Putin calls it ” progress » grain thefts in Ukraine
Writing of AGRARHEUTE*
© IMAGO/NurPhoto/Maxym Marusenko
Grain harvest in Ukraine (symbolic image): Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted during his address to the Nation on February 21, 2023 that grain from occupied Ukrainian territories was also counted in the Russian harvest.
In his Address to the Nation, Russian President Vladimir Putin assumes that Russian grain exports will increase significantly this year. However, he admits that part of this year’s harvest comes from Ukraine.
Russia will export up to 60 million tons of grain by summer 2023. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on February 21 in his Address to the Nation. The head of the Kremlin referred to a record harvest of more than 150 million tons of grain, including more than 100 million tons of wheat.
Poutine refers to looted grain
During his speech to the Federal Assembly, Putin admitted that not all of last year’s harvest came from Russia. He stated verbatim, according to the news service Agra-Europe : « Part of the record harvest was brought back from Ukraine. So we have also made progress on other economic fronts. » The Russian president also referred to the performance of local farmers. By 2022, he said, Russian agricultural production will have seen double-digit growth. Ten to fifteen years ago, the total grain harvest in Russia amounted to about 60 million tons. This quantity can now be exported.
How much grain did Russia loot from Ukraine?
According to a study by the North American Space Agency NASA dating back to December 2022, around 5.8 million tonnes of wheat were harvested last year in the occupied Ukrainian territory, with a market value of almost 950 million euros. While Ukraine has lost this part of its grain harvest, it is not known, according to the NASA, to what extent Russia has benefited. Numerous press articles have focused on the theft and smuggling of Ukrainian grain.
To learn more, see: Ukraine: Russia engages in grain theft on a large scale (Ukraine: Russia practices large-scale grain theft) and This is how Russia’s grain smuggling from Ukraine works (how Russian grain smuggling from Ukraine works).
What is the Russian grain harvest of 2022?
According to the Russian Federal Statistical Service (Rosstat), Russia’s agricultural production increased by 10.2% in 2022. Of a grain harvest of nearly 154 million tonnes, just over 104 million tonnes was wheat. This is a new record. The previous record was reached in 2017 with 135.5 million tonnes of cereals, including 86 million tonnes of wheat. Analysts, however, doubt the reliability of Russian statistics. Thus, the United States Department of Agriculture expects a Russian wheat harvest of only 91 million tons for 2022.
To learn more, see: Russia’s Mega Grain Harvest: How Much Are Russians Really Harvesting? (the mega-harvest of Russian wheat: how much do Russians really harvest?).
With equipment fromAgra-Europe
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* Source : Putin calls grain robbery in Ukraine ‘progress’ | agrarheute.com