Russia begins supplying flax meal to Turkey - Agroexport

MOSCOW. June 16 (Interfax) - Russia has begun supplying flax meal/cake to Turkey, the Agroexport federal center told Interfax.

A total of 28,000 tonnes were shipped from January to May, Agroexport said. Moreover, Turkey along with Morocco has become the main destination for exports of this product.

There is a global oversupply of oilseed flax in the current agricultural season against the backdrop of high yields in Russia, Canada and Kazakhstan, Agroexport said. As a result, the Russian export portfolio has partially shifted in favor of value-added products - flax meal. This was also facilitated by the launch of a new flax processing plant in southern Russia.

In total, 117,000 tonnes of soybean, rapeseed, and flax meals/cakes were sent to Turkey from January to May this year, up 1.7-fold compared to the same period last year, Agroexport said. This is the second highest figure in the history of observations.

In particular, soybean meal exports increased 16% to over 41,000 tonnes. Russia consistently ranks among the top three suppliers of soybean meal to Turkey, ahead of Bolivia, the United States, EU countries and even Brazil, Agroexport said.

Rapeseed meal shipments increased 45% to 48,000 tonnes. "Over the past five years, Russia has increased its presence in the Turkish market so much that it remains the main supplier of rapeseed meal, although seven to ten years ago the leading exporters were EU countries and Ukraine," Agroexport said.