Russia is expected to export 50 to 55 million tonnes of grain in the agricultural year 2023-2024, Russian Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev predicted on Thursday at a Russian government meeting chaired by President Vladimir Putin.
“Based on 2023 production volumes and taking into account past residuals, we expect 50 to 55 million tonnes of grain exports in the new season,” he said during a telematic meeting broadcast on public television.
Regarding the agricultural season ending in July this year, Patrushev specified that there would be 45 million tons of wheat.
The agriculture minister retained previous production forecasts for the coming season, which projected grain production in 2023-2024 at 123 million tonnes, of which 78 million tonnes would be wheat.
For his part, the Russian president said that exports could also increase to 60 million tonnes.
However, he warned that “it is necessary to note that there is a significant oversupply of grain on the world market, which puts considerable pressure on prices and affects the future plans of our agricultural producers.”
The Chinese ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, announced on Thursday that Beijing had approved the resumption of timber imports from the Oceanic country, which had been suspended in 2020, marking another milestone in trade ties between the two countries. step.
In an act in Canberra with the press, the diplomat announced that the Chinese customs department formally notified the Australian Ministry of Agriculture the day before resuming imports of this product and acknowledged that there were “other matters” to negotiate. ” Are. both countries.
“The momentum is positive. Both sides have agreed to sit down and talk about our differences,” he insisted.
Before the ban was imposed, Australia’s timber trade to China was estimated at A$1.6 billion (about US$1.06 billion).
The trade measure comes a week after Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell visited China, where he agreed with his counterpart Wang Wentao to step up talks to resolve a long-running trade dispute between the two countries.
Trade tensions with China have affected not only the Australian timber industry, but other products such as wine, lobster, coal and livestock.
