In the Nizhny Novgorod region on the Volga, they plan to build a new grain terminal
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An export terminal for river transshipment of grain for 300 thousand tons per year will appear in the Nizhny Novgorod region. Infrastructure on the Volga during the Soviet era was created to receive imported grain. Now the Volga regions are reorienting themselves to export, and the terminals, which were originally introduced in the lower reaches, are beginning to appear further north. According to analysts, grain deliveries by river transport look promising given the growing shipments to Iran and the possibility of offshore transshipment in the Black Sea.
In the Nizhny Novgorod region on the Volga, they plan to build a new grain terminal, said the governor of the region, Gleb Nikitin. “On the basis of the port complex of the Logoprom company on the right bank of the Volga, it is already planned to implement a project to create an export-oriented grain hub,” he said. “It is planned to export by water transport through the Azov and Caspian Seas to the countries of the Middle East and Africa.”
Andrey Ivanov, CEO of HC Logoprom, explained to Kommersant that at the first stage, in a year and a half or two years, it is planned to commission a grain terminal for 300,000 tons per year with possible expansion. According to him, the elevators on the Volga have been built since merchant times: “From the mid-60s of the last century, the USSR began to buy grain overseas, and the elevators began to work to receive American and Canadian grain delivered by river transport from the Black Sea ports. Today, these elevators are starting to work again to ship grain to the river, primarily for export.”
The top manager added that river terminals are appearing in the south – in the Volgograd and Rostov regions, but there are none in the north yet, so there is no competition; the Logoprom terminal is focused on the Nizhny Novgorod region and adjacent regions. “We are in a zone of risky farming, and we have recently had sustainable crops that exceed the volume of consumption of the region itself,” explains Mr. Ivanov. “The surplus of grain in the Nizhny Novgorod region in the spring was about 150 thousand tons. Due to the fact that the Soviet infrastructure is either missing or has fallen into disrepair, and the distances from us to the south and north are about 1.5 thousand km, the river is the logical and cheapest transport.”
There are enough ships to service grain cargo flows on the Volga, and the company has already received the first applications from shippers, says Andrey Ivanov. According to him, the most popular direction is road transshipment in the port of Kavkaz, but it is possible to ship grain towards the Caspian Sea, the Mediterranean, and the Gulf of Finland.
Andrey Sizov, director of Sovecon, notes that while maintaining positive dynamics in crop production, the project looks “understandable and justified”. River transport is the cheapest, grain supplies through the Caspian Sea, primarily to Iran, are growing, and there is also the possibility of access to the Sea of Azov through the Volga-Don Canal, the expert explains. But, Mr. Sizov clarifies, the negative impact of export duties on grain on farmers’ incomes may “in the near future lead to negative profitability in crop production in the Volga region and more eastern regions, which will reduce the supply of grain.”
“Saturation of the Volga Valley with infrastructure remains relevant,” says Eduard Zernin, head of the Union of Grain Exporters. “The grain industry needs additional transshipment facilities on the river. Our key competitor countries are developing river infrastructure as a strategic one.” At the same time, the expert clarifies, “the absence of an anchor grain exporter from the top 10 companies in such a large project is embarrassing.” “Without the participation of professionals already at the design stage, it will be extremely difficult to make a commercially successful project, especially to fill it with the declared product flow,” he believes.
The head of Infoline-Analytics, Mikhail Burmistrov, notes that in 2025 the reconstruction of the Gorodetsky hydroelectric complex is being completed, which will increase the export potential of the Volga region by increasing the depth of the ship’s passage. In this regard, he considers projects for river transshipment of grain to be promising, given that the potential for transportation by rail is currently limited. A Kommersant source in the grain market notes that this season the flow from river ports has doubled, the flow from the Volga-Don Canal is growing both for offshore transshipment in the port of the Caucasus and through the Caspian Sea to Iran, and there are not so many powerful terminals . However, he emphasizes, the Nizhny Novgorod region does not belong to the large regions for the production of grain and oilseeds.
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