Northern Sea Route can be considered grain supply channel in future - Lut

MOSCOW. Oct 29 (Interfax) - Russian Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut does not rule out that Russian grain could be supplied via the Northern Sea Route (NSR) in the future.

Transporting grain via the NSR is not yet economically feasible due to the high cost of shipping, although in the future this route could be considered, Lut told Izvestia.

Touching on grain exports to Egypt, Lut said that shipments to that country have declined this season due to logistics problems in the Black Sea.

"We are ready to supply via the Baltic, but our colleagues have concerns; they need to restructure their logistics," she said.

At the same time, judging by external data, "Egypt is not yet buying grain from anyone else," she said.

"They have suspended purchases for now, as far as we understand," she said.

"Nevertheless, we are ready to confirm that Russia will provide any amount needed to ensure Egypt's food security," she said.

Earlier, in an interview with the Vesti information service, Lut said that 1.5 million tonnes of grain had already been sent from Baltic ports to Egypt. In total, 1.6 million tonnes of grain have been supplied to the Egyptian market since the start of the current season (from July 1, 2026), compared with 3.5 million tonnes a year earlier.