Russia Regains Status of One of Leaders on Global Food Market - Medvedev

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that it is absolutely obvious that Russia returned its status of one of the top actors on the global food market.

SOCHI (Sputnik) – Russia has returned its status of one of the world's leaders on the food market, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Friday.

"Today, we can to look to the future with more confidence. It is absolutely obvious that over these years Russia … has returned its status of one of the top actors on the global food market," Medvedev said, speaking at a plenary session at the 2016 World Grain Forum.

The second World Grain Forum, devoted to the development of the international cooperation on the grain market, started in the Russian city of Sochi earlier on Friday and will last for two days.

On November 8, Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev said that the rich harvest of grain, gathered over the past three years, made it possible for Russia to become the largest wheat exporter on the global market. Over the past ten years, Russian grain export has tripled, surpassing 34 million tons.

The Agriculture Ministry expects that the grain crop will amount to 117 million metric tons and that the grain export in 2016-2017 will reach 35-40 million tons, including 28 tons of wheat.