The capacity of Russian ports for grain transshipment may grow by 36% to 117 million tonnes by 2035, First Deputy Director of Russia's Center for Strategic Research, Tatyana Gorovaya, told Sputnik.
"At the beginning of 2024, the grain transshipment capacity in Russian ports was 86 million tonnes. The main part of the grain volume is wheat, barley, and corn. A number of grain capacity construction projects are planned. Taking into account the launch of projects and the reduction of transshipment volumes, the total capacity can reach up to 117 million tonnes by 2035; they will be used for coastal transportation, the transshipment of compound feeds, and other bulk food cargoes," she said.
According to her, in 2023, Russia set a record for grain exports of 65 million tonnes. Last year, the main supplies of agricultural products fell on the countries of North Africa, the Middle East, Turkey, and Iran.
"Exports to China are also expected to increase due to the conclusion of a long-term grain supply agreement," Gorovaya added.
The main terminals of grain transshipment today are located in the Azov-Black Sea basin in the country's ports of Novorossiysk, Kavkaz (including raid transshipment), Taman, Azov, Rostov-on-Don, and Tuapse, as well as in Russia's northwest in the port of Kaliningrad, Gorovaya explained.
Recently, Russia has completed the delivery of 200,000 tonnes of grain free of charge to six of Africa's poorest countries, namely Mali, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Eritrea, Somalia and Zimbabwe.