Miller Magazine Issue: 155 November 2022

88 INTERVIEW MILLER / NOVEMBER 2022 exports. We have surplus wheat production over domestic needs and the wheat export market is volatile because of the grain export taxes. The Russian milling industry can benefit perfectly from this situation because there is no extra tax on flour export. So, I think an extended grain cor- ridor deal can stimulate the replacement of Turkish flour with the Russian one. Currently, Russian flour mills use only 50 percent of their capacity. When they increase their capacity to 80 percent, Russian millers can produce an extra 7 million tons of flour to send to world markets. We need better economic con- ditions and better logistics supply chains to deliver Rus- sian flour to world markets. That’s all. Looking for the future, what are the possible impacts of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the wheat markets? Before the conflict, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption to grain supply chains. Even before 24th February when the special military operation started, wheat prices were at the peak level and it has reached $450 per ton in the world market. But now, in the middle of the special military operation complications, the price is $100 less. We have to understand the consequences of such an overheated market. Because the market is based not on the ratio of demand versus supply. The key ele- ment for the market is the stocks-to-use ratio. If you have no serious problem with this ratio, you know that there will be no problem in the world. We will adapt and survive these hard times. We will sub- stitute grain exports with their ready derivatives. In order to do this, we strengthen our capacities and you will be surprised that this trend will be visible in this season. For example, we will certainly enhance the stock of forage and fodder for livestock. A few people know that Russia has already commissioned factories to have artificial meat production from legumes. Russia plans to create new transport corridors for grain exports and wants to build a North-South corridor with access to the Persian Gulf. Could you give some information about this alternative corridor? The North-South corridor is strategically important for Russia. Russia aims to expand the supply of its agrarian products to the Persian Gulf. This is a very important re- gion in terms of Russian agricultural exports. We are con- sidering using the transit capabilities of Azerbaijan and