Russian flour export revenue rises 13% as shipments to China double
Russia earned more than $96 million from wheat and mixed wheat-rye flour exports in January-July 2026, up 13% year on year. Physical shipments increased 1% to almost 287,000 tonnes, with China driving most of the growth.
Revenue grows faster than shipment volume
Russia exported more than $96 million of wheat flour and mixed wheat-rye flour in January-July 2026, according to ZOL, citing the federal Agroexport center and expert estimates. Export revenue increased 13% from the same period of 2025, while physical shipments rose 1% to almost 287,000 tonnes.
The difference between growth in value and volume indicates that average export revenue per tonne was higher than a year earlier. The available data do not specify whether that change resulted from prices, product mix, destination mix or contract terms. For Russian millers and traders, however, the figures show that export earnings expanded without a comparable increase in total tonnage.
China accounts for the main expansion
China was the largest named destination, purchasing more than $24 million of Russian flour. Shipments to the Chinese market reached 69,000 tonnes in January-July 2026, compared with 33,000 tonnes in the same period of 2025. Their value rose from just over $11 million to more than $24 million, meaning that both volume and revenue more than doubled.
Agroexport identified the increase in deliveries to China as the main factor behind Russia’s overall flour export growth. China accounted for roughly one-quarter of the reported export value and close to one-quarter of physical shipments. The expansion therefore had enough scale to offset weaker or broadly stable results in other destinations, although country-by-country figures for the remainder of the market were not provided.
The Chinese figures also illustrate the role of processed grain products in Russia’s agricultural sales. Flour exports allow millers to sell a product with domestic processing already completed, rather than shipping only unprocessed grain. The source material does not provide milling margins, freight costs or comparative wheat export data, so the relative profitability of the two channels cannot be established.
Central Asian and neighboring markets remain important
Turkmenistan was the second-largest buyer among the markets listed, with purchases exceeding $14 million. Afghanistan followed at about $8.5 million, while Mongolia bought approximately $6.5 million and Belarus around $5.7 million. Together with China, these destinations represented more than $58 million of the reported export revenue.
Afghanistan recorded particularly strong growth. Russian flour shipments to the country increased 1.8 times in physical terms and 1.9 times in value. Although absolute tonnage was not disclosed, the faster rise in revenue than volume points to a higher average value per tonne or a change in the composition and terms of shipments.
Russia is exporting flour to more than 70 countries in 2026, giving suppliers a geographically broad customer base. The reported growth nevertheless remains concentrated: China supplied the largest incremental demand, while Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Mongolia and Belarus formed the other leading outlets named by Agroexport. Future performance will depend on whether Russian exporters can retain the sharp increase in Chinese purchases while maintaining established regional markets.
