United Grain Company

"Moscow and Tehran are in talks on supplying Russian grains to Iran in exchange for oil, Andrey Gormakh, first deputy chief executive of Russia's state grain trader, United Grain Company, was quoted as saying on Tuesday. Russia and Iran have been discussing their oil-for-food deal since early 2014, but are yet to agree on details, highlighting the difficulties the two major energy producers face due to sanctions from the West. RIA news agency quoted Gormakh as saying that United Grain Company was ready to supply between 1 and 2 million tonnes of grain to Iran per year. That would be worth between $250 and $500 million, according to Reuters calculations based on the current price for Russian wheat. 'This question is being discussed at the working meeting, but we've not been informed of the solution to the financial question,' RIA quoted Gormakh as saying on the sidelines of a Russian-Iranian business forum in Tehran." (Reuters, "Russia may exchange grain worth $500 mln for Iranian oil," 9/9/14)