According to preliminary estimates, Russia exported over 1.6mn metric tons of grain in March and is expected to export the same amounts of grain in April and May 2012, head of the Russian Grain Union Arkady Zlochevsky said at the Moscow-Astana-Kiev videoconference focused on the preparations for the spring sowing season.

Grain exports could reach 26mn tons by the end of the current agricultural year, June 30, 2012, Zlochevsky said. This would be the highest figure in Russian history, he noted.