IKAR in Mass and Industry Media

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced plans to discuss reviving the grain deal with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin

Rossiyskaya Gazeta

Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Whether Russia should restore grain deal Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced plans to discuss reviving the grain deal with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, during the next phone call. Experts argue that the resumption of the grain deal is no longer relevant for Russia, which rerouted its grain exports long ago.

Anatoly Tikhonov, director of the Center for International Agribusiness and Food Security at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), told Rossiyskaya Gazeta that he doesn’t see any sense in reviving the Black Sea grain initiative. Russia has long established its own grain export logistics, as it sells more than 70% of its grain and other foods to friendly markets and conducts transactions in national currencies, he explained.

According to Tikhonov, nor would potential restoration of the grain deal benefit the global market: as Russia has been exporting its grain unhindered, the Black Sea initiative would not affect the grain market balance anyway, except that Turkey itself may benefit from reviving the deal, for the country earned quite a lot from redirecting grain flows through its ports, the expert noted.

While Russian grain exports are not performing well this year, the non-functioning grain deal is not the reason why, Dmitry Rylko, General Director of the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies, argued. Instead, he said, there are three other reasons for that, including the global oversupply of wheat and other grains, owing to good harvests across the EU and in Canada, Argentina and Australia, among other factors. "The second reason is ruble strengthening, with the Russian currency rising against the USD and the majority of `agrarian currencies.’ And the third reason is a major drought and quite a modest grain harvest in southern Russia, the country’s key export region," he explained.

02.12.25

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