Afghanistan emerges as top buyer of Russian wheat flour with $80 million imports

Afghanistan became the largest importer of Russian flour last year, doubling its purchases, according to Russia's state agricultural export agency, Agroexport.

The agency reported that Afghanistan imports flour due to insufficient domestic production capacity to meet demand.

The increase in imports came as Russia strengthened its ties with Afghanistan’s Taliban government. Last month, Russia's parliament approved a law enabling the removal of the Taliban from a list of banned terrorist organizations, moving closer to formally recognizing the government.

Preliminary estimates from Agroexport indicate that Afghanistan imported Russian flour worth nearly $80 million in 2024, double the amount purchased in 2023.

Russia’s total exports of wheat and wheat-rye flour reached $300 million last year, marking a 3% increase in value and 7% growth in volume compared to the previous year. China and Turkmenistan were also among the top three importers of Russian flour, the agency said.