MOSCOW, RUSSIA — Authorities in Russia have halted grain exports on two ships belonging to local grain trader Aston, widening a quality investigation that already has curbed exports from another grain trader, Reuters reported, citing a pair of industry sources.

According to the sources, Russia’s agricultural watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor has not provided some of Aston’s vessels with phytosanitary certificates. One of the sources told Reuters two of the company’s vessels were not provided clearance.

As the world’s top wheat exporter, any disruption to Russian shipments can have an impact on global prices. Russia expects record grain exports of 65 million tonnes this season following a strong harvest.

According to data cited by the newspaper Kommersant, Aston exported more than 2.7 million tonnes of grain in the first half of the 2023-24 marketing season, the third-largest volume after Grain Gates and TD RIF. Aston did not reply to a Reuters request for comment.

Rosselkhoznadzor said in late March that there had been an increase in complaints from importing countries about the non-compliance of Russian grain quality with quarantine requirements, including supplies from TD RIF. Rosselkhoznadzor recently put forward oversight proposals, including tightening control over phytosanitary conditions for grain intended for export.

“No appeals from other grain exporting companies regarding problems with obtaining a phytosanitary certificate for grain products have been received by Rosselkhoznadzor,” the agency told Reuters.

Petr Khodykin, owner of TD RIF, said last week that his company’s loaded ships could not leave port, estimating the total volume of halted shipments at 400,000 tonnes.