In just three months, from July to September, Russia had exported almost 10 million tons of grain - three times more than in 2008, the most yielding year of the whole post-Soviet period. In late October the Prime Minister Vladimir Putin even had to warn that the government would introduce prohibitive export duties, if the supply of grain to the world market would exceed 24-25 million tons, in order to meet the needs of Russia in grain and to stabilize prices at the domestic market. But Russia's ambitions are much higher: by 2020 the country would be able to export more than 40 million tons of grain, almost twice more than in 2008, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. According to the strategy of the state United Grain Company (UGC), approved in 2009, these figures may be achieved by the country even earlier - already in 2015 38 million tons of grain may be sent for export. If the predictions come true, Russia will be able to provide more than 20% of world exports of this product. But for this to happen, we need to build modern elevators and port terminals, as well as to optimize the transportation of grain, acknowledges UGC.

Alex Nepomnyashchy, the "Vedomosti” newspaper

http://www.vedomosti.ru/newspaper/article/270922/zerno_na_vyezd