Rusagro started exporting sunflower meal to Iran in 2023

MOSCOW. March 7 (Interfax) - Rusagro Group of Companies , one of Russia's leading producers of oil and fat products, was the first Russian company to begin exporting sunflower meal to Iran in 2023, the group's annual report said.

Rusagro also highlights China, to whom shipments grew fivefold to 47,000 tonnes, among its other meal export destinations.

The meal supplemented sunflower oil shipments to Iran, which reached 186,000 tonnes in 2023, a 29% decrease compared to 2022. In addition, the company shipped 42,000 tonnes of oil to Turkey (a 24% decrease). The decline in oil sales to Turkey is also due to increased competition from Ukraine, which supplies oil at minimal prices, the report said.

Meanwhile, China and the UAE have become new markets for oil exports.

The report says that Rusagro Group exported 399,000 tonnes of industrial oil and fat products in 2023, which is 22% less than in 2022. Export volumes of vegetable oil decreased 28% to 236,000 tonnes, while meal decreased 12% to 161,000 tonnes.

Exports in this segment accounted for 41% of all products sold.

Exports of consumer oil and fat products decreased 11% to 103,000 tonnes. Shipments of margarines and spreads decreased 22% to 27,000 tonnes, while bottled oil fell 11% to 49,000 tonnes. Meanwhile, exports of mayonnaise and sauces based on it increased 5% to 27,000 tonnes. This was due to increased demand in the markets of key countries such as Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, the report said.

In addition to oil and fat products, Rusagro also exported about 1,000 tonnes of dairy products in 2023, as they did the previous year (dairy product production and export indicators are part of the group's oil and fat business numbers).