Major trader to stop exporting Russian grain – media

French-Dutch merchant firm Louis Dreyfus will stop shipping Russian grain in the new crop year, which starts on July 1, several Russian news outlets reported on Monday citing the Russian Agriculture Ministry.

According to the ministry, it received a letter detailing the company’s intentions from Paulo Gladchuk, general director of Louis Dreyfus Vostok. He said the company’s decision was made “in the face of growing difficulties in grain exports” and it is currently “exploring the possibility of transferring its existing Russian business and grain assets to new owners.” The ministry noted that the firm's exit would not affect the volume and dynamics of Russian grain exports.

Louis Dreyfus is one of Russia’s top ten grain exporters. Among other assets, the company owns a cargo terminal on the Sea of Azov.

Louis Dreyfus is not the first trader to announce plans to pull out of the country in recent weeks. Last week, US-based commodities trader Cargill and Canadian Viterra (formerly Glencore Agriculture) notified the Russian agriculture ministry of their own intentions to leave the country’s market in the new crop year. In addition, according to a Bloomberg report on Friday, Chicago-based Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM) also plans to quit the country.

While Russian grain has not been directly hit by the Ukraine-related Western sanctions imposed on Moscow throughout the past year, international grain dealers, along with other Russian foreign partners, have been under intense pressure as financial restrictions have caused problems with payments and insurance of grain cargoes.

Analysts polled by Bloomberg, however, claim that the exit of Western majors would give Russia more control over the country’s agricultural shipments, which would allow it larger revenues. However, some analysts also warn that Russian farmers may suffer from the exit of foreign companies, as a smaller number of market players will mean less competition for their grain, which may lead to lower prices.

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