After a meeting with the president of Egypt, Abdel Fattahom al-Sisi, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Egypt will soon increase its supply of agricultural products to Russia by around 30%.
"Our countries are cooperating in the field of agriculture. Egypt is the largest consumer of Russian wheat, with at least 5-5.5 million tonnes. We provide about 40% of the grain in the country. 90% of our imports from Egypt are of agricultural products. Egypt has increased its supply of such products by 30% and this will soon increase by another 30%," said Putin in the Kremlin press statement.
The parties also agreed on the introduction of a simplified mode of access of Egyptian products to the Russian market.
"We discussed the possibility of creating a logistics centre on the Black Sea and agreed to facilitate the access of Egyptian products to our market. This will be appropriately handled by the Rosselkhoznadzor, which will send representatives to Egypt in the near future to make sure about the high quality of Egyptian products," said the president of the Russian Federation.
In addition, he said, the announced plans to establish cooperation between Egypt, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, with the possibility of a free trade area.
The Russian Ministry of Agriculture stated that the 30% increase in the supply of citrus, potatoes and onions from Egypt should cover half the estimated deficit because of the embargo.