Belarus has outlined plans to acquire up to 500 thousand tons of grain from Russia in 2023, a detail disclosed by Deputy Prime Minister Leonid Zayats in a televised interview with Belarus 1. The deputy prime minister indicated that last year about 4.2 million tons of grain were allocated to public animal husbandry, and this year the volume of production is projected to grow to 5.9 million tons. The additional amount, up to 500 thousand tons, would be purchased from Russia. He stressed that the exact figure for purchases would be determined only after Belarus completes its corn harvest in full. Zayats also highlighted Belarus’s grain reserves, noting that roughly 100 thousand tons of wheat are set aside for food use within the country.
Hare emphasized that if necessary, the wheat reserve could be milled into flour and sold on the market. He drew attention to the price set by the Belarusian Council of Ministers for the purchased grain, which is 12.5 thousand Russian rubles per ton, excluding VAT. He clarified that this price aligns with the domestic price level observed on the Belarusian market.
Toward the end of July, Russia’s president Vladimir Putin forecasted a record grain harvest for the country in the current year. He stressed that, despite ongoing sanctions, Russia will actively work to ensure the delivery of grain, food, fertilizer, and other goods to Africa and other regions. At the same time, Dmitry Patrushev, head of the Ministry of Agriculture, stated that in the 2023/24 agricultural year Russia could export up to 55 million tons of grain, accounting for about 87 percent of the export structure among friendly nations. Patrushev also noted that Russia exported 60 million tons of grain in the previous agricultural year, marking an all-time high for the country. He also mentioned that export revenues had risen significantly, surpassing $41 billion by the end of 2022.
In a separate development, there were reports from Poland about the detention of a Belarusian suspect linked to espionage for Russia. (Source attribution: Belta and other regional outlets across the information ecosystem.)