![](images/Logos/Bloomberg_Green.png)
July 5, 2023
By Aine
Quinn
Little-Known Russia Wheat Exporter Takes Top Spot in a
Year
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Combine harvesters in a wheat field near Stavropol, Russia.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg
A
company created in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has become
its top wheat trader in the space of a year.
Grain Gates LLC was the biggest shipper of Russian wheat in the
2022-23 season that just ended, exporting 7.22 million tons, according
to data from analyst ProZerno. It barely edged out TD Rif, which had
been the top exporter since the 2014-15 season.
Grain Gates has links to Demetra, which was the second-biggest Russian
wheat exporter last season and is backed by state-owned lender VTB
Bank PJSC. It’s run by Demetra’s former head of trading, Ilya Aliev,
and was registered in June 2022, according to the Spark-Interfax
database.
Little-known Company Becomes Top Russia Wheat Trader
Grain Gates beat TD Rif, which had held top spot since 2014-15
![](images/images_07_06_2023/Chart.jpg)
Demetra and VTB, a lender subject to sanctions over
the invasion, have sought to distance themselves from the new trading
company. Russia’s agriculture sector itself has not directly been
sanctioned, though it initially faced
issues with financing and logistics due to
the penalties.
“Grain Gates is not affiliated with Demetra-Holding, it’s one of
commercial partners among various other companies we work with,” a
Demetra spokesperson said.
Grain Gates said it and its owners are independent of both VTB and
Demetra, and that Demetra is one of its partners.
A spokesperson for VTB said it had neither shareholder nor financial
relationship with Grain Gates. VTB head Andrey Kostin has said the
bank intends to exit the grain business by the end of the year, and
that having a sanctioned bank among shareholders of a company involved
in international trade is “unfavorable,” according to the
spokesperson.
Russia is set to be the world’s top wheat exporter for
the second season in a row. Its record harvest and exports have helped
cool grain prices after the invasion disrupted their shipment and sent
food prices soaring. While Ukraine is still struggling to ship grain
due to the war, the Kremlin has been strengthening its control of
Russian grain markets after the departure of
international traders Cargill Inc., Viterra and Louis Dreyfus Co. at
the end of last month.
Read more: Russia Is Tightening its Grip on the World’s Wheat Supply
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