Russian food exports are skyrocketing thanks to the world’s appetite for the country’s wheat.
Food shipments from the Black Sea nation jumped 25 percent last year, the most since 2012, to $19 billion, according to the Russian Export Center. The record amount was mostly due to exports of wheat and frozen fish, while sugar volumes also surged.
Higher wheat prices also helped Russia earn more from its food sales last year, said Andrey Sizov Jr., managing director at Moscow-based consultant SovEcon. The nation increased exports of products like sweets and sugar as well.
Read more: A QuickTake Q&A on Russia’s dominance in the wheat market
Russian wheat has particularly dominated sales to Egypt, which imports huge amounts of grain to help feed its 95 million people. The North African country last year overtook China to become the biggest buyer of Russian food for the first time since 2012.
Egypt’s purchases of Russian foods such as wheat and sunflower oil jumped 44 percent to $1.74 billion last year, according to the export center. China’s imports of Russian produce like fish and oilseeds totaled $1.72 billion.