Little-known Russia wheat exporter jumps in ranking

A company created in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has become one of its major wheat traders in the space of a year.

Grain Gates LLC was the second-biggest shipper of Russian wheat in the 2022-23 season that just ended, exporting 7 million tons, according to data from analyst ProZerno. TD Rif remains in the top spot and has been the top exporter since the 2014-15 season. 

Grain Gates has links to Demetra, which was the second-biggest Russian wheat exporter in the previous season and was backed by state-owned lender VTB Bank PJSC until this month. It’s run by Demetra’s former head of trading, Ilya Aliev, and was registered in June 2022, according to the Spark-Interfax database. 

Demetra and VTB, a lender subject to sanctions over the invasion, have sought to distance themselves from the new trading company. VTB head Andrey Kostin said last week the bank had sold its stake in Demetra but didn’t disclose the buyer at the time. 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 before Kostin’s announcement that it and its owners are independent of both VTB and Demetra, and that Demetra is one of its partners. A spokesperson for VTB then said it had neither shareholder nor financial relationship with Grain Gates. 

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.