Senior Russian Lawmaker Favors Paying For Grain, Fertilizers In Rubles

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th May, 2022) Russia should switch to ruble payments for grain and fertilizers supplies, Andrey Klishas, the chairman of the Russian Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation said on Sunday.

On Friday, Russian Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev announced plans to invite the countries of the middle East and North Africa to discuss ruble payments for supplies as well as to review the mechanism of calculation to exclude European banks from transactions.

"Supplies of grain, fertilizers - all for rubles," Klishas said on Telegram in response to the news report that the ministry is considering switching to ruble payments for grain supplies in the future.

On April 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin's decree requiring gas payments in rubles went into effect. The president stressed the need to accelerate the transition to rubles transactions with partnering countries in order to avoid the restrictions imposed by the West and remove obstacles for trade.

World leaders and international organizations have been raising concerns over an imminent and large-scale food crisis since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, citing disruptions in supply chains and derailed crops production in one of the largest gain producer in the world. Ukraine and Russia account for an estimated 30% of global exports of wheat, 20% of maize, and 76% of sunflower.