Russia signed more than 750 contracts on the exports of grain, oil and sugar in national currencies in 2023, Viktoria Abramchenko said.
"This year alone, more than 750 contracts for grain, oil and sugar have been concluded in national currencies, which is 1.5 million tonnes of products. Most of the deals are with Iran, Syria, Egypt and the CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States] countries," Abramchenko said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, due June 14-17.
She added that the deliveries of grains with settlements in national currencies were a priority, and the number of contracts continues to increase.
"If we talk about grain, in the first four months of this year, already more than 5% of exports are in national currencies," she said.
Russia was also engaged in talks with other countries on the export of agricultural products in national currencies.
"We are engaged in negotiations with all friendly countries. In total, our agricultural exports include 160 countries worldwide. And, of course, we are interested in trading in rubles. But the readiness of a receiving country is also important," she said.
In January, Abramchenko told Sputnik that Turkiye had successfully paid for grain in rubles and noted that Russia was also working on the issue of such supplies to Egypt.
The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum has been held since 1997, and since 2006 it has been held under the patronage and with the participation of the President of the Russian Federation. In 2020, the forum was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Sputnik, a part of the Rossiya Segodnya media group, is an official media partner and the host photo agency for the event.