Instead of months, it's now taking weeks to get grain out of Russia. That's because a wartime deal to unblock food supplies met Moscow's demand of assuring banks, shippers and insurers that sanctions don't apply to its massive agriculture industry.
The agreement allowed a Western shipper to move two vessels of grain out of Russia in a matter of weeks. It used to take months because Western banks refused to transfer payments to Russia. Although U.S. and European Union, Western banks have been wary of running afoul, hindering buyers’ and shippers’ access to Russian grain.
The deal mattered to Russia because it’s the world’s biggest exporter of wheat, accounting for almost a fifth of global shipments, and the country is expected to have one of its best-ever crop seasons this year. Agriculture accounts for around 4% of Russia’s gross domestic product, according to the World Bank.“What is more important is employment,” said Russian economist Sergey Aleksashenko, referring to jobs created by agriculture. “It’s like 7 to 8% of employment.
Srivastava, whose company operates from Los Angeles and Geneva, hopes to be able to ship out 10-15 million tons of Russian grain over the coming year.since the start of the war on Feb. 24. He said the company is aiming to pick up 1 million tons of grain from Ukraine under the four-month-long U.N. deal.“We are a commercial business, but we are trying to help the plight of farmers in both Russia and Ukraine,” Srivastava said. “I’m very optimistic, especially in the last couple of weeks.
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