MOSCOW, RUSSIA —  United Grain Co. said it plans to further expand a key Russian grain terminal on the Black Sea to compete against the country’s shallow ports, Bloomberg reported on July 9.     

United Grain planned to boost the capacity of the deep-water Novorossiysk Kombinat Khleboproduktov terminal to handle 4.7 million tonnes of grain a year, from 3.5 million tonnes, according to spokeswoman Yekaterina Donskikh. The company sent a plan to the government for approval last month with a target of 5.6 million tonnes by 2017, Bloomberg reported.

United Grain, which controls the Kombinat Khleboproduktov terminal, also plans to build more silos there to bring storage capacity to about 243,000 tonnes in 2017, up from 143,000 tonnes.

Bloomberg also reported that United Grain wants to join forces with OAO Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port to build a vegetable-oil terminal. The companies, which haven’t yet agreed on the terminal’s ownership, plan to begin construction mid-next year and complete the 1.3-billion-ruble project by the end of 2016.