MOSCOW, July 19. /TASS/. Transportation costs for agricultural products exported from Russia increased dramatically as a result of non-compliance with the requirements of the grain deal, Russian Minister of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev said on Wednesday.
"As a result of non-compliance with Russian requirements in the so-called grain deal, our transportation costs for exports have skyrocketed," he stated during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to the minister, exporters partially shift these expenses to grain and plant producers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier on Wednesday that the grain deal led to direct losses for Russian farmers. "This [grain deal] turned into direct losses and losses for Russian agricultural producers, for enterprises producing fertilizers," he said. According to him, "because of a 30-40% discount on Russian grain on global markets, the losses of Russian farmers amounted to $1.2 bln."
Putin added that "domestic fertilizer producers also faced a similar problem -their losses reached $1.6 bln." "For example, the cost of imported spare parts for equipment for them has grown by 40% and the growth of costs in financial transactions was about 10%,"the president stated.
The grain deal was concluded on July 22, 2022, in Istanbul. The first part of the agreements for a period of 120 days with the possibility of automatic extension was signed by the UN and Turkey separately with Russia and Ukraine. It concerned the export of Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea. The second part for a period of three years was signed by the UN and Russia - this memorandum dealt with the removal of restrictions on exports of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers. The agreement was later extended three times, the last two times for 60 days. At the same time, Moscow repeatedly stated that the Russian part of the deal, which has not been implemented, should also be fulfilled.