Russia may expand oilseed planting in 2025 as farmers look for more profitable crops to replace low-margin crops such as wheat, the country’s main agricultural export, Dmitry Rylko, head of the IKAR consultancy, said on Wednesday.
For example, Rylko highlighted that the area designated for oilseeds can grow on 1 million hectares (2.47 million acres), reaching up to 19 million hectares (47 million acres) or more. This decision clearly reflects the superior performance of oilseeds in 2024, when bad weather significantly affected the grain harvest in Russia.
“A million-hectare increase in crop rotation is a tremendous number, especially considering all the constraints, crop rotations and seed issues,” Rylko said. He added that oilseeds are expected to be more profitable than grains by 2025.
Russian farmers, facing crop failures in 2024 and low global prices, are choosing to reduce wheat cultivation, prioritizing higher-yielding crops. These choices are likely to have a direct impact on global markets, as Russia is the world’s largest wheat exporter.
Russian analysts also pointed to preliminary data from the state meteorological agency. These data indicate that 37% of winter crops, predominantly wheat, are in poor condition. The main reason is low soil moisture. Therefore, this is the worst record ever documented.
However, to date, the Russian Ministry of Agriculture has not yet released official data on the state of crops or forecasts for the upcoming harvest.
Source: Olga Popova | Notícias Agrícolas
