Russia has become world's NUMBER 1 exporter of wheat & other agriculture – Putin

Russia’s agriculture sector is booming and the country has surpassed the US and Canada to become the world's top wheat exporter, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced during his annual year-end press conference.

The Russian president noted that over the past several years, the country has changed from a major importer of grain to a major exporter.

“The Soviet Union was always buying grain, we were one of the largest buyers of grain, wheat. I would like to mention that today Russia is the largest supplier of wheat to the world market, we are number one,” he said, adding: “We are ahead of the United States and Canada.”

According to data published by the Russian Federal State Statistics Service on Thursday, grain harvest in Russia increased by 6.5 percent this year, up to 120.6 million tons in net weight. The production figure is better than that projected by the Russian Ministry of Agriculture.

Putin earlier said that Russia has ensured its independence on the global wheat market. According to the Russian president, enormous natural resources should serve as a guarantee for high-quality food production and should be used specifically to increase the production of organic, non-GMO food products.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section