Russian fertilizer supplier Uralchem has informed President Vladimir Putin it is willing to buy the local assets of grain traders Cargill and Viterra, and asked a government commission to approve the deal, according to Bloomberg, citing a Kommersant report.
In a letter to Putin dated Nov. 21, seen by Kommersant, Uralchem CEO Dmitry Konyaev argued that Cargill and Viterra intend to cease operations in Russia in 2023, while their grain trading activities, including exports, overlap with Uralchem’s business. They use the same ports for grain shipments as Uralchem does for fertilizers and use similar types of ships for transportation.
Putin was reported to have agreed with Uralchem’s arguments and sent the case to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and the Cabinet.
Since farmers sell grain to Cargill and Viterra and Uralchem sells fertilizer to the farmers, Uralchem sees synergies, a company spokesman told Reuters. However, he said the company is only talking about negotiations and that “no one would be twisting their arms.”
Russian Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev was quoted in early December as saying that Russia does not intend to “kick out” foreign grain traders, according to a Reuters report.
Both Viterra and Cargill deny they plan to leave Russia. Kommersant cited Cargill’s letter to the Agriculture Ministry dated Dec. 6, saying the company works as usual and has no plans to sell Russian assets. The CEO of Viterra’s local unit also denied plans to sell assets.