Russian groats production falls 5.7% in 2025 as stocks keep the market well supplied
Russia produced 1.8 million tonnes of groats in 2025, down 5.7% from 2024, according to Rosstat data reported by TAdviser. Rice, buckwheat and millet groats all recorded lower output, but substantial carryover stocks kept supply high and pushed prices down by year-end.
Output retreats from the 2024 record
Russia produced 1.8 million tonnes of groats in 2025, a decline of 5.7% from the previous year, according to Rosstat data reported by TAdviser. The contraction followed a record 2024, when national output reached 1.94 million tonnes, 2.2% above the 2023 level.
The decline continued at the end of the year. December production was 0.2 million tonnes, down 7.4% from December 2024 and 5.4% from November 2025. The figures indicate that processors reduced output even though the domestic market remained amply supplied with products carried over from the previous season.
Rice, buckwheat and millet all decline
The Institute for Agricultural Market Studies, known as IKAR, estimated total groats production at 1.46 million tonnes in January-October 2025. Rice groats output fell to 411,000 tonnes from 422,000 tonnes in the same period of 2024. Buckwheat groats declined to 451,000 tonnes from 457,000 tonnes, while millet groats recorded the sharpest reduction, falling to 103,000 tonnes from 121,000 tonnes.
Full-year buckwheat groats production reached 558,460.0 tonnes, down 3.76% year on year, according to Alto Consulting Group data published in September 2026. Output nevertheless remained above its 2022 level: production increased 1.08 times between 2022 and 2025, with an average annual growth rate of 2.7%.
Buckwheat processing is highly concentrated geographically. The Siberian Federal District produced 345,116.1 tonnes in 2025, or 61.8% of the national total. The Central Federal District followed with 83,440.5 tonnes, the Urals produced 72,205.7 tonnes and the Volga district contributed 55,212.1 tonnes. All other federal districts together accounted for less than 1%.
Large inventories outweigh smaller planted areas
IKAR said prices for Russia's principal groats—rice, buckwheat and millet—were lower by the end of 2025. Rice prices were pressured by large inventories, cheaper new-crop raw material and weak exports. The institute said the market could receive support from a 200,000-tonne quota for exports of paddy rice and a possible reopening of groats exports after quotas are removed.
Buckwheat prices were stable in the first half of 2025 and then rose sharply after planted area fell from 1.1 million hectares in 2024 to 746,000 hectares in 2025. New-season groats and large inventories subsequently reversed that increase. IKAR said the next price movement would depend on the ruble exchange rate and exports, particularly to China. Russia's Agriculture Ministry estimated the 2025 buckwheat harvest at about 1 million tonnes, sufficient to cover domestic demand, while warning that a further reduction in planting could create conditions for shortages and higher prices.
Reduced millet planting supported prices only temporarily. Before the new season, processors sold old-crop inventories at discounts, and supplies of newly produced millet groats continued to weigh on the market. IKAR expects conditions for consumers to remain stable, leaving processors to manage high inventories, subdued prices and lower production volumes rather than a shortage of finished groats.
