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PT_BR 
MOSCOW, March 3 (Reuters) - Russian agricultural conglomerate Rusagro (RAGR.SBX) has started exporting sunflower oil from its St Petersburg terminal (PNT) on the Baltic Sea as it seeks to overcome bottlenecks at Black Sea ports, according to LSEG data and four sources.
Russia, the world's largest wheat exporter, aims to increase its agricultural exports by 50% by 2030. The country has increasingly turned to Baltic ports, typically used for crude and refined oil products, as capacity is limited in Black Sea ports, which dominate export food shipments.
According to LSEG ship tracking data, the first cargo of sunflower oil at PNT was loaded last month on a tanker named Lanikai with a deadweight of 46,317 metric tons. Its destination was India, the sources said.
Loading of another cargo of sunflower oil is scheduled for the end of March.
Neither Rusagro nor the PNT responded to requests for comment.
Industry sources, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said Rusagro had leased two tanks at the terminal, for sunflower oil and for importing palm oil.
One of the sources said the company has long-term plans to export sunflower oil from the terminal.
President Vladimir Putin is seeking to boost agricultural exports as part of a strategy to position Russia as a global agricultural powerhouse alongside Brazil, China and the United States.
In addition to being the largest exporter of wheat, Russia has become the leading exporter of corn, barley and peas.
Future growth may be limited by domestic demand and transportation capacity limits.
Russia is trying to increase cargo capacity in several regions, although Black Sea ports dominate shipments, accounting for 90% of Russia's seaborne grain exports, which totaled 62.4 million metric tons in the 2023/2024 season.
Reporting by Natalia Chumakova and Olga Popova; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Barbara Lewis
