Russia’s agricultural sector has flourished during the four years of war, becoming an important revenue source for the cash strapped government as traditional oil revenues fall.

Russia’s agriculture output set new export records and transformed itself into a key driver of the national economy, even as oil revenues fell from over 50% of the budget in pre-war days to around 25% now.

Grain remains the foundation of Russia’s agro-export dominance. Despite extreme weather conditions — including frosts, drought, flooding and early snow — the country’s net grain harvest is expected to reach 137mn tons in 2025, one of the largest in recent history.

“This year, Russian farmers have once again given us cause for pride, despite all the weather disasters they faced,” Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev said in December. “Had it not been for such challenging weather, the harvest would have been several million tonnes higher.”

A notable feature of this year’s harvest is that the most productive regions are changing as global warming opens up fresh land to cultivation, offsetting the fall in the traditional wheat fields thanks to drought and rising temperatures. While southern black earth (chernozem) regions traditionally lead grain production, it was Central Russia and Siberia that exceeded targets, covering the shortfalls in the south by tens of millions of tonnes.

As a result, Russia is expected to export 53–55mn tons of grain in the 2025/26 agricultural year, including 43mn tons of wheat. Russia first became the world’s top wheat exporter in 2016, overtaking the United States, and has retained that position since, never falling below 30mn tonnes annually.

Deputy Prime Minister Patrushev also pointed to record yields of legumes, fruits, berries, rapeseed and soybeans, highlighting a broader diversification in the sector.

Russia’s most striking agricultural milestone this year came in sunflower oil. For the first time, it surpassed Ukraine — historically the world leader — to become the number one global exporter, shipping 5.2mn tons in the 2024/25 season, half a million tonnes more than Ukraine, overtaking grain in the value of the export mix.

“This is half a million tons more than our competitor,” Patrushev said. “Ukraine now ranks second with 4.7mn tonnes. Argentina is third, exporting 1.3mn tonnes.”

The Russian government has been steadily increasing vegetable oil exports in recent years, securing new buyers including India, a long-standing trading partner. Rising global prices for vegetable oils — outpacing those for grains — have driven this trend, alongside more lenient export regulation. This has made oilseed cultivation more profitable than grain, prompting farmers to dedicate more land to it.

The country also marked a significant shift in meat production, with exports of meat and related products projected to reach 1mn tonnes by year-end — a record volume.

“This is a historic event for the country’s meat industry. Russia has transformed from a major meat importer into a confident exporter,” said Konstantin Savenkov, Deputy Head of Rosselkhoznadzor.

He attributed the growth to years of structural reforms, investment, and increasing self-sufficiency. In 2025 alone, Russia gained market access for 35 new products across 11 countries. Russian livestock products are now sold in over 100 countries, with around 7,000 companies registered for export.

In total, Russia’s agricultural exports are expected to reach $40bn this year, covering approximately 80mn tons of products, making it the second biggest earner for the budget after oil ($350bn) but having overtaken arms exports ($8-15bn).