Russia rapidly loses ground in China’s wheat import market

Russia’s wheat exports to China are collapsing after a brief surge in 2024, when shipments reached 345.8 thousand tonnes — 2.5 times more than the previous year. Despite this increase, Russia remained the smallest supplier among major exporters. In 2024, China imported a total of 11.0 million tonnes of wheat, including over 3.3 million tonnes from Australia, more than 2.5 million from Canada, around 2.3 million from France, nearly 1.9 million from the United States, and about 0.6 million from Kazakhstan.

The situation changed drastically in 2025. With China harvesting a larger domestic crop, the country sharply reduced its wheat imports: total purchases in January–September fell almost 3.7 times year-on-year to 2.9 million tonnes. Russian exports declined even more dramatically. In the first nine months of 2025, Russia shipped only 17.7 thousand tonnes — more than 16 times less than during the same period in 2024. In September alone, exports totaled just 5.5 thousand tonnes, accounting for only 1.4% of China’s monthly wheat imports.

Even record-low pricing has not helped Russia maintain its position. In September 2025, Russian wheat was the cheapest among all suppliers at 237 USD/tonne including delivery. Yet, despite the price advantage, China continues to cut purchases from Russia, opting instead for more stable and higher-quality suppliers.

Tags: wheat, Russia, China