Free supplies of Russian grain to Africa will be carried out in the near future, Russian Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev has informed.
"We will supply African countries with grain on a free-of-charge basis. So far we are talking about six countries and about the volume of supplies from 25,000 to 50,000 tonnes, now it is being worked out. I think that these deliveries will be carried out in the near future," the minister said.
Patrushev added that Russia can supply the world market with 55 million tonnes of grain or more if harvest forecasts rise in the 2023-2024 season.
"This year we plan to export about 55 million tonnes [based on] our crop plans. This figure can be adjusted upwards in the course of harvesting. If we see that our forecasts for harvesting in terms of grain volume are growing, we will adjust the figure in terms of export volumes as well," the minister noted.
Last week, the Kremlin said that Russia remains a steady supplier of grain and does not use exports to make countries dependent on it.
The statement was made in response to remarks by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, who alleged that Russia was supplying cheap grain to developing countries to make them dependent.
In late July at the Russia-Africa Summit, Putin said that Russia is ready to replace Ukrainian grain and announced that Moscow will deliver 25,000-50,000 tonnes of grain to Burkina Faso, Mali, Eritrea and a number of other African countries for free.
Last week, Kenya started processing 34,000 tonnes of condensate for fertilizers, supplied free of charge by Russia in May. According to local media, this condensate will be used to produce 100,000 tons of finished products, which will be allocated as subsidized inputs for farmers.