La Jornada: Closure of the Strait of Hormuz and El Niño event boost Russian agricultural exports

Moscow. Russia’s agricultural exports have risen considerably in recent months amid uncertainty over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the arrival of the climate phenomenon of The Child, according to the Rosselkhozbank (RSHB).

Between January and April 2026, exports of agricultural products from Russia increased by 4.9 million tons, or 21.8 percent year-on-year.

“Given the unstable situation in the Strait of Hormuz and the climatic fluctuations predicted by The Child“Many countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East are increasing their inventories of agricultural products for fear of fertilizer shortages and drought,” RSHB analysts explained to Sputnik.

Thus, Russian food supplies to China grew by more than a third in the first four months of 2026. Egypt increased its imports of sunflower oil from Russia by more than 25 percent, and those of dried chickpeas by 74 percent compared to the same period in 2025. Likewise, Algeria increased its purchases of soybean oil by more than 25 percent.

“Russian food exporters have a number of important competitive advantages, such as stable production volumes, consolidated logistics routes, friendly relations with importers from Asia and Africa and, undoubtedly, the high quality of products, which facilitates their promotion, particularly in the upper segments of the most profitable markets, such as China and the Arabs,” RSHB experts noted.

The escalation of war around Iran left the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for the global trade in fuel and fertilizers, practically blocked for more than three months.

Earlier this month, the World Meteorological Organization urged preparation for an episode of The Child between June and August 2026 due to increasing surface temperature anomalies in the tropical Pacific.