Russia planning large-scale grain exports to Japan+

MOSCOW, Nov. 17 Kyodo - Russia is planning large-scale grain exports to Japan as the development of routes for grain exports to Asia has become a key challenge for the country, according to Russian sources familiar with the matter.

Japanese trading companies such as Sojitz Corp. and Itochu Corp. are
negotiating with Russian firms to construct a grain shipment facility with an
annual capacity of 1 million tons or more at a port in the Russian Far East,
they said.
The companies are also considering a Japan-Russia joint venture to develop
farms in Siberia and transport wheat and other farm products via railway to a
Far East port for exports to Japan and other destinations, the sources said.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev hosted the World Grain Forum in St.
Petersburg in June and emphasized the development of routes for grain exports
to Asia as a key challenge for Russia.
Russia became a grain exporter in 2001 after a sharp decline in grain
production following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Its grain exports have
increased steadily since then, exceeding 20 million tons in 2008.
Russian Grain Association President Arkady Zlochevsky said Russia plans to
boost annual grain exports to 50 million tons by 2020, expanding sales channels
to cover the whole of Asia.
But the Russian Far East region does not currently have a grain shipment
facility, while shipments from a facility in the Black Sea area have increased
up to its capacity as it handles nearly 90 percent of Russia's total grain
exports.
Medvedev instructed his government in October to develop grain shipment
facilities in the Far East among other regions, the sources said.
==Kyodo
2009-11-18 00:28:59