Production and Export Potential of the Grain Sub-Complex of the EAEU Countries

Abstract

The grain sub-complex is the most important structural element of the agrarian sector in many countries of the world. The production of grain and its processing create the basis for satisfying the internal needs of the country’s population for those food products in which this type of product is used to a certain extent. It does not concern only bread and bakery products, pasta, cereals or confectionery. Grain as a raw material for the production of animal feed is indirectly involved in the production of eggs, milk, meat, and food products which use them. Thus, the level of development of the grain sub-complex largely determines the degree of ensuring the full-fledged food independence of the country. Besides, due to this dependence, the grain market conditions greatly affect many other national food markets; the negative grain market situation can have profound consequences for political stability in the country. Consequently, the research on the production potential of the grain sub-complex of Russia and other states located in the post-Soviet space has acquired the paramount importance. After the collapse of the USSR, the grain production in the emerged fifteen independent states was developing in different ways. Some of the countries, including Russia, managed to significantly increase the production and export potential of the national grain sub-complex. The given research used statistics data of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization for the period of 1992-2019 to analyze the physical quantity of grain production in Russia and neighboring countries. The authors also consider the change trends in the parameters of grain export from the states, which in 2019 were the main exporters of grain from this part of the world. The particular attention is paid to the changes in the gross grain harvests structure in the EAEU member states, as well as to the production of grain per capita in the states that belong to this integration group.