Russia bags surplus grain as Black Sea trade stalls

Black Sea drone attacks have disrupted a major trade route for Russian grain, cutting the country’s grain exports by about one-third since early July. With large volumes now unable to leave the country, agricultural consultancy IKAR estimates that excess unexported grain this year could reach up to 20 million tons that must be stored until exports can resume.

To cope with the rapid build-up in domestic stocks, farmers are increasingly turning to giant plastic vacuum bags, often referred to as Argentinian silo bags, as an alternative to traditional grain elevators. This storage method is being adopted as Black Sea trade remains stalled and existing infrastructure proves insufficient for the surplus.

Russia’s total grain storage capacity is about 160 million tons across the country, much of it built in the Soviet era. Experts estimate that only 40% of this capacity meets modern standards, while the rest is suitable mainly for short-term storage and carries higher risks of losses.

High interest rates have made investment in new long-term grain elevators expensive for farmers, limiting their ability to expand conventional storage. At the same time, storage capacity is unevenly distributed geographically and can be far from producing fields, making it less economical to use for some producers.

Plastic grain bags are emerging as a cheaper and more flexible option, allowing crops to be stored directly in fields. Each giant sausage-shaped vacuum bag can hold up to 200 tons of grain, providing on-site capacity where conventional facilities are lacking or distant.

The Russian Grain Association estimates that around 10 million tons of grain, roughly 7% of the country’s annual harvest, is already stored in such bags. Consultancy IKAR believes these bags could ultimately accommodate up to 20 million tons of Russian crops.

Adoption is growing quickly at individual farms. Aeon Agro, which operates land in Russia’s Penza region, has increased its use of plastic bags eightfold since 2023 to 180,000 tons, now storing more than half of its total production in this way.

Plastic grain bags provide farmers with immediate, relatively low-cost storage capacity at the field level, reducing the need to transport grain to remote elevators. The technology, developed in Argentina in the 1990s, has been used in other major grain producers and is now being scaled up in Russia as export disruptions persist.

Russian petrochemical company Sibur says grain can be stored in these bags for up to 18 months while maintaining quality, provided the bags are properly maintained. Research from the Russian agricultural watchdog’s centre indicates that, when maintained correctly, losses from bag storage can be comparable to those in grain elevators, although the effective storage period in bags is shorter.

The method involves notable risks. Creases or folds in the plastic can allow mice to penetrate the bags, and farmers may need to deploy cannons similar to those used at airports to deter birds from pecking holes. Storage conditions vary across farms and regions, and constant monitoring of bag integrity is required to minimize losses and protect the stored harvest.