Russia plans to conquer Japan's grain market

Russia plans to export a large amount of grain to Japan as the country aims to develop routes to facilitate shipments to Asia.

Japanese and Russian companies are negotiating to construct a grain shipment facility with an annual capacity of one million tonnes or more at a port in the Russian Far East, said sources.

The companies are also considering a Japan-Russia joint venture to develop farms in Siberia and transport wheat and other farm products via railway to a Far East port for exports to Japan and other destinations.

Russian Grain Association President Arkady Zlochevsky said Russia plans to boost annual grain exports to 50 million tonnes by 2020, expanding sales channels to cover the whole of Asia.

But the Russian Far East region does not currently have a grain shipment facility, while shipments from a facility in the Black Sea area have increased up to its capacity as it handles nearly 90 percent of Russia's total grain exports.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in October instructed his administration to develop grain shipment facilities in the Far East among other regions.