2 Dec 2022 13:21

Russia will not expel foreign grain traders from its market - Agriculture Minister

SAMARKAND. Dec 2 (Interfax) - Russia will not expel foreign grain-trading companies from its market, Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev told reporters when answering about the ministry's position regarding the appeal from VTB president Andrei Kostin to the Russian president on proposing to limit the operations of these companies on the Russian grain market.

"We have been working on this topic, and the position is unanimous that we will not expel anyone [from the market]," Patrushev said. "If colleagues want to leave themselves, then we will search for those who would be ready to replace [them], and we will not expel anyone."

Earlier, the VTB chief proposed prohibiting companies belonging to "persons related to unfriendly states" to make deals on grain and oilseed crops in Russia for further export. Apart from that, a suggesting was made to prohibit companies affiliated with "unfriendly" states to own shares in Russian companies dealing with grain handling and storage.

The proposal was prompted by the need to strengthen the role of Russian traders in the world market.

"International traders play a key role in export operations with Russian grain," the letter stated. "In addition, exporters from unfriendly countries own about 15% of port transshipment capacity in the Azov-Black Sea basin, which allows them to extract additional profits from trade in Russian grain, while the Russian economy and budget receive less money," Kostin said.

In November, Kostin told reporters that in the current environment he does not expect harsh measures against foreign grain traders operating in Russia, but believes that domestic companies need support. "I don't think there will be any harsh measures now, but we expect in principle a development program for our own companies," he said.

Global grain traders such as Viterra and Louis Dreyfus currently operate in Russia. Viterra, together with VTB, owns a grain terminal on the Black Sea. Louis Dreyfus owns a terminal on the Sea of Azov. Bunge also agreed in September to sell its Russian oilseeds processing business to Karen Vanetsyan, the controlling shareholder of Exoil Group. Cargill has reported that it is no longer investing in Russia.