The emergency regime takes effect at 6 p.m. on August 28, according to a decree signed by regional governor Yuri Slyusar. The document says the situation arose from the suspension of port operations and disruption of cargo shipping in the Azov-Black Sea basin, with agricultural exports from the region halted since July 10.
The decree warns that the accumulation of significant volumes of agricultural products at producers' facilities could disrupt people's living conditions and cause substantial material losses. The regional Ministry of Agriculture and Food has been tasked with managing the emergency response, which for now will focus on continuous monitoring and the collection and analysis of information.
Mikhail Maryshev, chairman of the agro-industrial committee at the Rostov branch of the business association Opora Rossii, described the farmers' predicament on August 17. "Grain exports have completely stopped," he said, adding that local producers can neither sell their grain nor store it while waiting for more favorable conditions: some warehouse capacity is idle, while other facilities are full because the grain is not selling.
Against the backdrop of a record harvest, the cost of grain production has risen to 14–17 rubles per kilogram. Maryshev said farmers would consider themselves lucky to break even by selling the crop at cost.
Earlier, wheat prices on the Chicago Board of Trade rose to their highest level since July 2023. Rabobank analyst Andrick Payen said alternative suppliers will not be able to fully replace the volume of Ukrainian and Russian grain missing from the market, as the two countries account for nearly 30% of global wheat exports. He estimated Ukrainian shipments in the first half of August at about 300,000 metric tons and Russian shipments at 2 million metric tons, against a five-year August average of about 5 million.