Africa, Asia Increase Food Imports From Russia Amid Looming El Nino Concerns — Bank
/ Go to the mediabankA view shows wheat ears to be harvested in the fields of Progress-Agro company in Krasnodar region, Russia.
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Countries across Asia, Africa and the Middle East are increasing imports of Russian food products amid uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz and concerns over the approaching El Nino climate phenomenon, Russia’s state-owned Rosselkhozbank (RSHB) told Sputnik on Sunday. El Nino is a characterized by unusually warm sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The resulting temperature shifts can trigger major weather disruptions worldwide, causing droughts in some regions and flooding in others. «During the first four months of 2026, Russian agricultural exports increased by 4.9 million tonnes, or 21.8%, compared with the same period last year… In particular, amid instability in the Strait of Hormuz and anticipated El Nino-related climate fluctuations, many countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East are building up agricultural stockpiles out of concern over potential fertilizer shortages and droughts,» the bank said. According to RSHB, Russian food exports to China rose by more than one-third in January–April 2026 compared with a year earlier. Egypt increased imports of Russian sunflower oil by more than 25% and dried chickpeas by 74%, while Algeria boosted purchases of Russian soybean oil by more than a quarter, RSHB said. Russia also increased exports of pork and pork by-products to China by 89% year-on-year, reaching 37,000 tonnes, the bank added. That volume already amounts to nearly half of Russia’s total pork exports to China for all of last year, RSHB said. «Russian food exporters benefit from several major competitive advantages, including stable production volumes, established logistics routes, friendly relations with importers in Asia and Africa, and, of course, high product quality. This facilitates their expansion, including into premium segments of high-margin markets such as China and the Arab world,» RSHB’s Center for Industry Expertise said. Forecasts published by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts in May said that the Pacific Ocean temperatures could rise more than 3 degrees Celsius above normal by September–October, potentially marking the second-highest El Nino temperature peak on record.
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