Shipments by train of Russian produce could grow by 5% in 2024, driven by higher export volumes the country has forecast this season, operator Rusagrotrans managing director Alexei Barbaryush said at the Russian Elevators 2024 conference.

"In 2023, rail transportation of agricultural products amounted to more than 38 million tons, against 31 million tons in 2022. We expect the volume transported to be more than 40 million tons in 2024, mainly due to the increase in export volumes" , said Barbariusz.

"Along with the growth of the cargo base against the backdrop of a record harvest, we expect there to be an emphasis on the redirection of cargo flows that previously went to the European Union member states to the south and east." "Recently, there has been an increase in the transportation of special cargo to the southern and central regions, as well as an increase in rail passenger traffic in the conditions of the closure of some airports in the southern regions," he added.

In recent times, sea logistics has proven to be a challenge for many countries around the world, including Russia. And if the Houthis are a problem for transportation in the Red Sea, then the Kremlin must deal with the sanctions imposed by the EU because of the war in Ukraine.

"More than 96,000 tons of Russian fertilizers continue to be held illegally in Latvian, Estonian and Belgian ports. Their release and transfer should be carried out within the framework of efforts to implement the Russia-UN memorandum on the normalization of internal exports of agricultural products, but at the moment there remain the only (and fruitless) measures of the West to implement the agreement 18 months after its signing " said the head of the Africa Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Vsevolod Tkachenko.

However, exports by sea to Russia are proceeding at a satisfactory pace. A few days ago, the Russian Union of Grain Exporters announced that Iran has joined the five largest importers of grain from Russia.

This was confirmed by the head of the Grain Union of Iran, Kaveh Zargaran, in an interview with the ILNA agency. "Between 2.5 and 3 million tons of grain from Russia traditionally enter our country through northern ports," Zargaran said. "Growing many cereals in Iran is not feasible due to the dry climate and importing them is a preferred option for us," he concluded.