28 August 2026
The Rostov Region, one of Russia’s major agricultural regions, providing the country with nearly 10% of its grain harvest, is declaring a state of emergency effective August 28, the regional government announced on Friday.
Drone attacks have shut down ports on the Sea of Azov since mid-July, through which up to 1.5 million tons of Russian grain were exported monthly. This has led to “a significant accumulation of agricultural products at agricultural producers,” Interfax quotes Rostov Region Governor Yuri Slyusar as saying.
The current situation could “result in disruption of people’s livelihoods and significant material losses,” the order states.
The economic situation for farmers “looks very bad,” with “shipments in the Azov Basin completely halted,” states Arkady Zlochevsky, President of the Russian Grain Union. Following the Azov ports, the largest grain terminals on the Black Sea also halted operations in August, also hit by drone strikes.
As a result, more than 80% of Russian grain export capacity was paralyzed. In August, according to SovEcon estimates , wheat exports fell to a 16-year low of 1.9 million tons. Compared to August 2025, volumes fell by a factor of 2.3, and compared to the five-year average, by a factor of 2.6.
The Russian Ministry of Agriculture is preparing to begin state grain procurement and is exploring alternative export routes, including ports on the Arctic Ocean. But no viable alternatives are in sight, according to Zlochevsky. Exporting grain via the Baltic Sea requires using ports in Latvia and Lithuania, assuming they even agree to handle the cargo, and St. Petersburg’s Vysotsky Grain Terminal has a limited capacity of 3 million tons per year, he notes. Black Sea ports typically handle more grain per month.
Overcrowded elevators and the inability to sell grain are driving down domestic prices, forcing farmers to sell their harvests for next to nothing. The average price of fourth-grade wheat in European Russia fell to 8,575 rubles per ton excluding VAT last week, 35% below the start of the season, according to SovEcon.
Another sector of the mafia economy that is in deep trouble. Let’s have some more of this!