Russia's OZK Group exported almost 800,000 of wheat to Bangladesh in previous agricultural year

MOSCOW. Oct 31 (Interfax) - OZK Group exported 796,900 tonnes of wheat to Bangladesh in the previous agricultural year, the group's deputy CEO Kseniya Bolomatova said.

"Following the group's entry to Bangladesh's grain market in the 2019-2020 season, the country immediately became one of the company's top 5 export destinations. Wheat supplies have increased four-fold, from 209,000 tonnes in the 2019-2020 season to 796,900 tonnes in the 2023-2024 season. Bangladesh held second place by amount of wheat purchased from the group in the previous two seasons [2022-2023 and 2023-2024]," Bolomatova said in a commentary on the Agroexport Center's review of Bangladesh's agro-industrial market.

The company expects further cooperation with the country.

Bangladesh will remain one of the traditional markets for sales of Russian wheat during the current agricultural year lasting from July 2024 to June 2025, she said. "At the end of the previous agricultural season, the country held fifth place among the largest importers of Russian grain, having increased purchases to a record 3.6 million tonnes compared to 1.5 million tonnes in the 2022-2023 season," she said. "In four months of the current season [July-October], exports of Russian wheat have already exceeded 1.1 million tonnes, which allows us to forecast supplies close to the record results of last season," she said.

Russia competes with Canada, India, Ukraine, Argentina and Brazil on the Bangladeshi grain market. "The main competitive advantage of Russian wheat is its optimal quality-to-price ratio. Despite a sharp fall in purchases of Russian grain to 307,000 tonnes in the 2021-2022 season, when the country's demand for imports was essentially completely covered by India's record harvest, Russia continues to hold a leading position among Bangladesh's suppliers," she said.

As reported, OZK Group exported 3.6 million tonnes of grain in the previous agricultural year, the highest figure in the company's history. Exports stood at 2.3 million tonnes in the preceding year.

OZK Group is a trading and logistics operator for agricultural products. It is among the top 5 exporters of Russian grain. The state owns a stake of 50% plus 1 share in the company. The second shareholder with 50% minus 1 share is Demetra-Holding. OZK has served as the government agent for conducting procurement and commodity interventions in the grain market for more than 20 years.

Its revenue to IFRS stood at 100.4 billion rubles in 2023, EBITDA was 16.2 billion rubles. Net profit reached 10.9 billion rubles.