Major exporters of Russian grain already have a lobby group - the National Association of Exporters of Agricultural Products - which represents mainly large foreign trade houses. Russia's agriculture ministry does not plan to impose any grain export restrictions and predicts it will export 37 million metric tonnes (mt) of wheat in the 2018-19 season. The Russian government has been trying for years to diversify its food exports away from Western countries by increasing imports from Central Asia and Africa. The figures were released in conjunction with the ministry's announcement of a new grain exporters' union, a decision that has left foreign buyers cautious about its close ties to the government, given that the Russian industry already has a lobby group.
Russia's agriculture ministry does not plan to impose any grain export restrictions and predicts it will export 37 million metric tonnes (mt) of wheat in the 2018-19 season. The Russian government has been trying for years to diversify its food exports away from Western countries by increasing imports from Central Asia and Africa. The figures were released in conjunction with the ministry's announcement of a new grain exporters' union, a decision that has left foreign buyers cautious about its close ties to the government, given that the Russian industry already has a lobby group.