Russia Clinches More Grain Control Just as Wheat Prices Spike
- Fewer Russian companies control more of Russia’s grain exports
- Exit of Western traders curbs insight into Russian supplies
Source: Bloomberg
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Russia is stepping up its bid to control even more of its crucial grain industry — potentially giving it greater power over exports — just as worries mount over global supply.
Major Western merchants including Cargill Inc. and Viterra pulled back from Russia last year after government pressure to make way for local firms. Now, even the country’s top private trader is finding it tough to operate amid a spat with the state. That puts the market in the hands of fewer companies, some that have or had links to the Kremlin.