3 April 2023
Following Cargill's announcement on suspension of Russian grain export operations starting in July 2023, Viterra and LDC said they are also considering exiting the Russian grains export market, while ADM is mulling over exit from corn processing business.
Viterra (which is the agricultural division of the international commodity trader Glencore) made an official announcement on its own website, in which the company emphasizes that it has decided to stop exporting grain from the Russian Federation, starting from July 1, 2023. The company is also studying the possibility of selling its assets in the aggressor country.
According to Bloomberg, since July 1, 2022 and till the end of February 2023, Viterra exported 2.1 million tons of grain from Russia (taking the fourth place among the largest Russian exporters).
Some publications (for example, RBC) also report that it is possible that the company's management will continue to export Russian grain, but as an independent operator.
Louis Dreyfus Company has also made a statement that it is planning to cease grains export out of Russia since 1st July. The company is also assessing options for the transfer to new owners of its existing Russian business and grain assets.
As for ADM, according to Bloomberg, the company is considering exiting a joint venture for processing corn, in which the international trader owns a 50% stake.
As a reminder only recently the ADM company restarted sunflower processing in Illichivsk, Ukraine. From July to December 2022, the company exported more than 1 million tons of Ukrainian grain and oil crops, for example, ADM is the largest exporter of rapeseed from Ukraine in the current season.
Viterra's share among the largest Ukrainian exporters of grain and oilseeds is close to ADM, both in terms of volume and sales structure (for example, together with ADM and Cargill, Viterra is among the top three exporters of rapeseed from Ukraine).
LDC belongs to TOP-3 Ukrainian grains exporters during last years with the average share of up to 10%.