MOSCOW, RUSSIA / RankWire.AI / – Russia anticipates its 2026 grain harvest will reach approximately 140 million tonnes as farmers wrap up the season. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev reported that farmers had collected over 126 million tonnes by October 2, with roughly 90% of the planted grain area threshed by then. The government also predicts oilseed output will total around 35 million tonnes this year. These latest figures place the harvest close to the official full-year projection.
The national grain tally has steadily increased during the autumn harvest, having reached 113.5 million tonnes by early September and 120 million tonnes by September 18, which included more than 90 million tonnes of wheat. Oilseed production has now climbed to approximately 15 million tonnes. Farmers in organized sectors have also gathered nearly 4.5 million tonnes of potatoes and a similar volume of vegetables. Officials noted that yields for most crop categories are still above their 2025 levels.
The Ministry of Economic Development forecasts a slightly higher grain harvest of about 141.8 million tonnes for 2026. Rosstat documented a 2025 harvest of 141.2 million tonnes under its territorial coverage, while Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut separately cited a 2025 total of 144.6 million tonnes at an April government meeting, making it the country’s third-largest grain harvest. In 2024, Russia produced nearly 130 million tonnes of grain, providing a recent benchmark for the current season.
Harvest activities near completion
Patrushev emphasized that the current harvesting pace aligns with the government’s crop expectations, which are supported by ongoing support measures during the autumn season. Authorities allocated about 10 billion rubles to subsidize grain transportation from key producing regions, and grain export duty payments have been suspended through the end of 2026. Additionally, export duties on vegetable oil and meal are capped at August levels, forming part of the policy framework for the final stages of the 2026 campaign.
Winter sowing has already covered more than half of the planned area for the upcoming agricultural cycle, prompting officials to urge regional authorities to monitor planting closely, especially for winter grains. The Agriculture Ministry previously stated farmers plan to sow over 19 million hectares with winter crops and highlighted the importance of machinery, seed, fertilizer, and other supplies during seasonal work. Farmers are preparing these inputs while completing the remaining 2026 harvest across grain, oilseed, vegetable, and potato sectors.
Recent standards keep output high
Recent years have seen Russia’s grain production stay near historically high levels, with approximately 143 million tonnes harvested in 2023 and a record 157.676 million tonnes in 2022. The current estimate of about 140 million tonnes is below these totals but still above the nearly 130 million tonnes collected in 2024. Since harvesting is still ongoing in some regions, officials have not finalized the 2026 figure; the overall total will depend on reports from the remaining harvest zones.
The broader 2026 crop includes oilseeds, vegetables, and potatoes, with officials expecting oilseed output to reach about 35 million tonnes for the year. As regions complete seasonal fieldwork, vegetable and potato harvesting continues, while farmers expand winter planting for the next cycle. The Russian government has not yet published a definitive grain total, but its current projection remains around 140 million tonnes for 2026, with the latest reported harvest already exceeding 126 million tonnes.