Bashkir-Agroinvest starts exporting grain legumes to China, India with payments in local currencies

UFA. Aug 29 (Interfax) - Bashkir-Agroinvest, one of the leading agricultural producers in Bashkortostan, began exporting grain legumes this year and its first customers were China and India, the company said in a press release.

The company has shipped 3,600 tonnes of agricultural products to China and 2,500 tonnes of peas to India. Direct exports of grain legumes to India began with these shipments.

"This year we delivered trial shipments of grain legumes to buyers from China and India. Although the company's priority is still the Russian market, we're prepared to continue to develop Bashkortostan's export potential. We will carefully watch the international market situation in the new season," Bashkir-Agroinvest CEO Alexander Maleyev said in the press release.

The pilot shipments enabled the company to work out all foreign trade processes, from holding negotiations with foreign buyers to organizing the logistics and financial transactions. Payments for the exports are being made in the national currencies of the importing countries, yuan and rupees, Maleyev said.

Russia exported more than 1.1 million tonnes of peas to China in the 2023/2024 agricultural year, becoming the country's largest supplier of this product with a share of more than 49%, the company said, citing tentative estimates from the Grain Exporters Union.

India resumed imports of peas in the second half of 2023 due to its own poor harvest after not having imported peas for over six years.

Bashkir-Agroinvest, which has 117,000 hectares of arable land, is the leading producer of sugar beet, grain and grain legumes in Bashkortostan. The company is part of the regional group Tavros.