Cargill, Viterra and Louis Dreyfus will cease handling Russian grain. Viterra, a subsidiary of Glencore and Cargill will exit the Russian export market on July 1st. The three companies are among the top six traders dealing in Russian wheat and are responding to international pressure and the restraints associated with U.S. and E.U. sanctions on Russian banks.
Between July 2022 and March 2023 Viterra handled 2.4 million tons of wheat from the Russian Federation, Cargill 1.5 million tons and Dreyfus close to 1 million tons out of a total export volume approaching 33 million tons. All three companies have extensive investments in grain terminals and joint ventures with Russian companies most of which will result in impairments to earnings.