Rusagro negotiating with east African countries on grain supplies, may begin exporting in very near future

DAR ES SALAAM. Oct 29 (Interfax) - Leading Russian agricultural holding Rusagro Group is negotiating with east African countries on supplying grain, and may begin exporting to them in the very near future, head of the holding's department for trading and sales for the agriculture and the fat and oil segments Mikhail Rashkovetsky said.

"We're already negotiating with a number of the largest mills in the region and we plan to launch supplies in the very near future. The Tanzania-Russia business forum is a wonderful platform for finding new contractors and partners," Rashkovetsky told journalists on the sidelines of the Russia-Tanzania business forum, which is being held as part of an official Russian delegation's visit to Tanzania. The first meeting of a Russian-Tanzanian intergovernmental commission will be held there on Tuesday.

Africa has huge potential for grain supplies, Rashkovetsky said. "We are planning to increase our presence in the countries of eastern and western Africa. Tanzania is a key area for us, as grain imports to the country are growing from year to year. Analysts say that there are plans to supply around 1.3 million tonnes of wheat to the country this year," he said.

"Tanzania is an important regional trading hub, and Rusagro plans to be one of the leaders in supplying agricultural produce to the country," he said.

As reported, the group sold 1.149 million tonnes of cereals in 2023, an increase of 165,000 tonnes or 17% on 2022. This includes sales of wheat, which grew 15% to 942,000 tonnes.

Rusagro is Russia's leading producer of sunflower oil and margarine, and holds second place for production of sugar and industrial fats and third place for production of pork. The group's revenue increased 15% to 277.3 billion rubles in 2023, adjusted EBITDA increased 26% to 56.56 billion rubles, and net profit rose over sevenfold to 48.7 billion rubles. The group's land bank is 696,000 hectares. Its assets are located in 15 Russian regions.