Russia's Food Trade with the Middle East and North Africa

Abstract

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is the top destination for Russian food exports. Focusing on Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, this article shows that Russian exports of wheat, barley, and maize are the key component of these bilateral food trade relationships; Russian food imports are typically minor in comparison. Russia’s agricultural trade ties with the MENA countries under study have repeatedly been affected by the improvement and deterioration of political relations. For example, Russia banned most food imports from Turkey over a political conflict in 2016, which prompted counter-measures by the Turkish side. It can generally be observed that Russia is successfully working to open additional destination markets in the region and beyond, while simultaneously impeding imports of specific food products that it aims to produce domestically.