Russia may become second only to the United States in wheat exports this year, Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov said in an interview published by the Rossiyskaya Gazeta daily on Friday.

"In this agricultural year Russia may set a record. The biggest deliveries were reported in September and 3.5 million tons of grain were shipped. I believe by wheat exports (23 million tons in 2011) we can occupy the second place in the world after the United States," he said.

Russia exports grain to 60 countries and Zubkov said there are enough storage capacities sufficient to keep 119 million tones at a time.