KRASNODAR, November 8. /TASS/. Russia has shipped 25,000 tons of wheat from the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk as humanitarian aid to one of the six African countries selected earlier this year as a recipient of such food security assistance, according to a statement on the Telegram channel of the Russian Federal Customs Service.

"A vessel arrived at the maritime port of Novorossiysk to load 25,000 tons of wheat. The cargo is intended for one of the African countries as humanitarian aid. Customs officers, as a priority matter, carried out the necessary operations and released the goods," the statement says.

In July, speaking at a plenary session of the Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum, President Vladimir Putin said that Russia was ready to send grain free of charge in the form of aid to Africa’s neediest countries.

In August, Putin said that negotiations on free supplies of 25,000-50,000 tons of grain from Russia to six African countries were in their final stages. Previously, the head of state named these six countries as Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, the Central African Republic and Eritrea.

In 2022, Russia exported 11.5 mln tons of grain to Africa. In the first six months of this year, it shipped almost 10 mln tons to African countries.