By Rhod Mackenzie
At the Russia-Africa summit, the option of creating logistics corridors for the supply of Russian grain and fertilizers to the African continent will be discussed. This was announced on Tuesday, July 25, by Oleg Ozerov, Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
“It seems to me that the idea of such logistics corridors and the creation of grain hubs is promising and feasible, given the great opportunities that Russia has in terms of grain exports,” Ozerov said in an interview with RIA Novosti .
He also added that the problems of organizing deliveries from the Russian Federation to Africa are of a complex nature and they must also be addressed in a comprehensive manner. For example, one of the topics for discussion at the upcoming summit is the creation of logistics corridors not only for food and fertilizers, but also for any product manufactured by Russia.
“This is a natural and correct way to develop our relations on a long-term basis, aimed at the future,” Ozerov emphasized.
Earlier, on July 24, the Russian President Vladimir Putin, in his article “Russia and Africa: Joining Forces for Peace, Progress and a Successful Future,” stated that the country is able to offer an alternative to Ukrainian grain and provide food to states in need . According to him, a record harvest is expected in 2023, which means that there is no reason to worry about the consequences of canceling the grain deal.
The deal ended on July 17. On July 19, Putin said that Russia was ready to return to the implementation of the deal if the obstacles to its agricultural exports are removed, the Rosselkhozbank is connected to the SWIFT system, and the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline is resumed.
Prior to this, on July 7, the head of the Ministry of Agriculture, Dmitry Patrushev, said that in the 2023/24 agricultural year, which will last from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, Russia can export up to 55 million tons of grain. At the same time, friendly countries, according to him, occupy approximately 87% in the structure of exports.
At the same time, Patrushev said that over the last agricultural year, the Russian Federation exported 60 million tons of grain, which was an absolute record for the country. He noted that export revenue also increased significantly and amounted to more than $41 billion in 2022.
This article originally appeared in Russian ay iz.ru