CONTAINER & CARGO HANDLING

. . . and its not over yet

21 years ago

Few believe that the spending is over with years of consolidation of Russias grains sector anticipated. Russias 2005 grain harvest exceeded 78m tons, with an estimated 10-12m tons set for export and overseas interests believed to control around 20% of the market. International competitor Louis Dreyfus of France already has a 50% stake in RusElCo – the joint venture that owns a chain of 11 elevators with capacity of 1.7m tons.

Multinational investments in portside grain storage and processing facilities indicate that global players involved in grain logistics are looking to take control at both ends of their trading arrangements – and to new levels.

In three years, some analysts believe that the top five companies in Russia will own a half of the main grain assets in the industry. Vadim Vikulov, head of Aston – another of the big players – was recently quoted as saying:

“Foreign companies have access to cheaper money and direct contracts for sales on international markets which gives them bigger opportunities for manoeuvring.”