Solaris Grain trader aims to supply Russian wheat to China, after winning an Algerian tender

Solaris as one of the largest Russian wheat traders, based in Switzerland, believes that China will soon become the largest wheat purchaser for the Russian Federation and expects to increase exports to Pakistan, Turkey, Sudan and Egypt after winning the competition in Algiers, as Reuters reported.

Solaris is a strategic partner of VTB-controlled Demetra Holding, in which the bank has consolidated its all grain related business activities.

"China is also a key target for Russian grain exports, and Solaris is confident that China will soon become a major purchaser of Russian wheat," Josh Martin, Solaris CEO said to Reuters Agency.

Solaris recently got the green light to ship Russian wheat from one of Demetra Holding export terminals to Indonesia and Vietnam, Martin said.

His company won a large chunk of the bids in a governmental grain tender in Algiers in November, with deliveries due in December. This was a breakthrough for Russia, whose wheat, after a long break, found its way to the Algerian market, which was traditionally dominated by France.

In December, Algiers became one of the main destinations for wheat exports from Russia, with a supply of 200,000 tons for the moment, as the SovEcon agency noted in its weekly review.

"Solaris has been focused on increasing the supply of Russian wheat to the traditional markets such as Turkey, Sudan, Tanzania and Egypt, as well as opening new markets for Russian wheat such as Algiers and Pakistan, among many others developing ones," Martin said.

He said that Solaris has been also engaged in shipping from Ukraine and Romania this year, at the same time exploring the possibility of creating strategic export alliances from other countries such as Australia and Argentina. Prior to Solaris, Martin worked for ECTP and Cargill trading houses.

This diversification allows the company to reduce its reliance on Russian wheat trade, which has suffered this year from export duties and a reduced yields.

But at the same time, Solaris expects to enter the top three largest wheat exporters from Russia in the 2021/22 season. Last season, the company shipped 5 million tons of wheat from Russia, and this season, due to a lower yields, supplies will be slightly reduced, as Martin said.

Source: zerno.ru
Image source: finam.ru