Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Gordeev said that an organization of grain exporters, similar to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), can help stabilize the grain market, coordinate its prices and solve the problem of world hunger.

The idea was expressed during the meeting between Gordeev and the Minister of Food and Agriculture of Germany, Julia Klöckner, and the Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia Armin Lachet. They met on the sidelines of the international food and beverage exhibition ANUGA-2019 in Cologne.

As Gordeev said, the future organization may “include Russia, the European Union, the United States of America, Canada, Argentina and other countries.” He suggested discussing coordination between the world's largest grain exporters at the Green Week exhibition in Berlin.

Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Gordeev

Russian agricultural production has increased by 20% over the past five years after the introduction of an embargo on imports of Western food products, imposed by the country in response to sanctions. It is predicted that the grain crop will grow by 5% this year to 118 million tons, including about 78 million tons of wheat.

In recent years, Russia has managed to capture more than half of the global wheat market, becoming the world's largest grain exporter thanks to unprecedented harvests and attractive prices. Since the early 2000s Moscow's share of the global wheat market has quadrupled.

President Vladimir Putin recently said that the country has secured its independence in the global wheat market.

According to Putin, the huge natural resources of the Russian Federation should serve as a guarantee for the production of high-quality food products and be used precisely to increase the production of environmentally friendly products without GMOs. He predicted that Russian agricultural exports would double by 2024 to reach $ 45 billion.