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Russian bumper grain crop chokes ports as road, rail try to cope

THIS year's bumper Russian grain harvest is putting severe strain on the nation's railways, truckers and storage facilities, reports Bloomberg.

With more grain than ever needing to be exported and moved domestically, rail cars are scarce as this year's crop shatters old Soviet-era records.

So much is leaving Black Sea ports that some trucks have to wait three or four days before being told they can deliver grain into port silos, according to Maksim Fisik, who runs trader Petrokhleb-Kuban in the southern city of Krasnodar.

"Ports are choking under the volume, said Mr Fisik.

Said SovEcon grain dealer Andrey Sizov: "If crop estimates continue to rise, that won't lead to higher export forecasts. It simply wouldn't be possible to ship out that much."

To cope some of Russia's biggest ports are planning to boost capacity, and it looks like Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port and United Grain Co will be the leading beneficiaries.