Lead

Russian exports of agricultural products increased by 26% in value terms in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period last year, exceeding $20 billion, according to Ilya Ilyushin, head of the federal Agroexport center. The growth was driven by gains across multiple product categories, with particularly strong performance in grain, fish, and oil and fat products.

Coverage Comparison

All reporting on this story comes from TASS, Russia's state news agency. The agency published separate articles detailing the overall growth figures, export performance to China, and specific commodity trends. The coverage attributes data to official Russian sources, including the Agroexport center and the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor). The tone across the articles is neutral, presenting statistics without overt political commentary.

Key Claims

According to Ilyushin, exports of grain and pulses rose by 43% in the first half of 2026, while oil and fat products increased by 22%. Fish and seafood exports grew by 28%, dairy products by 20%, confectionery by 13%, and processed food products by 15%. These figures were provided at an event in Barnaul and reported by TASS.

Russia's agricultural exports to China also saw significant growth. In the first half of 2026, exports to China increased by 41% in volume and 44% in value, reaching around 5.7 million tons worth over $4.9 billion, according to expert estimates cited by Ilyushin. The top five agricultural products exported to China by revenue were frozen fish, rapeseed oil, crustaceans, soybeans, and flax seeds. Last year, Russia's agricultural exports to China totaled $7.7 billion.

Pork products were a notable highlight. Russia increased pork exports to China by 55.2% year-on-year, reaching approximately 61,900 tons, according to Rosselkhoznadzor. This included a 36.6% increase in pork purchases to over 32,500 tons, and a 1.8-fold increase in pork offal imports to 29,400 tons. Overall, Russia's total pork product exports exceeded 190,000 tons in the first half of 2026, an 8% increase compared to the same period in 2025. Standalone pork exports grew by 3,500 tons to 141,300 tons, while pork offal exports surged by 27% to 48,700 tons. Notably, Belarus purchased 66,100 tons of Russian pork, an 11.1% increase.

In the oats segment, Russia increased exports by 61% in volume and 58% in value, shipping more than 170,000 metric tons worth about $36 million, according to the Agroexport center. China remained the largest buyer, importing more than 115,000 metric tons, a 25% increase year-on-year in volume terms. Mongolia, the second-largest importer, received more than 33,000 metric tons, already exceeding its total for all of 2025. Kazakhstan moved into third place with 17,000 metric tons, up from about 1,200 metric tons in all of 2025. Russia also began exporting oats to Saudi Arabia for the first time, with exports totaling about 140 metric tons worth nearly $50,000.