Russia May Establish Separate Grain Market for Deliveries to Countries in Need

MOSCOW, May 26 (Sputnik) - Russia may establish a separate grain market since Western sanctions prevent Russian grain exporters from delivering supplies to countries in need, Eduard Zernin, the board chairman of the Russian Union of Grain Exporters, said on Thursday.

"There will be no stockpiling [of food products] on the domestic market because of the exceptionally high demand for our grain in the world. We will find a suitable solution for arranging supplies to countries in need, including the establishment of a separate regional market with its own clearing currencies, financial instruments, trade and dispute settlement rules," Zernin told journalists before the opening of the Russian Grain Forum.

He explained that this new type of trade relations will be established with the MENA region, which includes countries of the Middle East, North Africa, and some other nations.

Zernin added that Moscow's former partners are now hindering supplies of Russian grain to countries in need by blocking transactions between banks, freezing finances, and barring Russian ships from entering their ports, all the while making bold statements about the global food crisis.

Countries in need could fall short some 10 million tons in grain supplies from Russia in the next season if these trade barriers persist, according to Zernin. However, the expert was confident that Russia will find a way to continue supplies to these countries given that total embargo on grain deliveries, considered humanitarian goods, is impossible.

Nevertheless, business opportunities will be limited, Zernin said, adding that sanctions against Moscow have reduced the volume of potential grain deliveries this season by some 3 million tonnes.