MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, US — Cargill has reached an agreement to sell its stake in a Russian grain terminal on the Black Sea to Russia’s Delo Group.
“In line with Cargill’s earlier announcement to stop the export of Russian grain in July 2023, we can confirm we have reached an agreement with Delo to sell our 25% stake in our KSK grain terminal in Novorossiysk,” the company said.
US-based Cargill said the sale to Delo, a transport and logistics group, was contingent on approval from the Russian government and does not affect any other Cargill operations in the country. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Delo Group started grain transshipment at the KSK terminal in 2007 and has invested more than 9 billion rubles ($93.5 million) in its development. KSK said in July that it handled 7.6 million tonnes of grain in the 2022-23 season, an increase of 46% over the previous season.
Cargill, like other Western companies, scaled back its business activities in Russia following the country’s February 2022 invasion of neighboring Ukraine, operating only essential food and feed facilities. Prior to the war, Cargill had built a large presence in Russia, including grain and oilseeds trading, oilseeds processing, poultry processing, animal feed and other food and ingredients activities.
Before Cargill’s decision to stop exporting Russian grain in July, the company had been one of the largest non-Russian shippers of the country’s wheat. Russia is the world’s largest wheat exporter, supplying about 17% of the total to global markets.
