Minnesota-based Cargill to sell stake in Russian grain terminal

Minnetonka-based Cargill said Thursday it intends to sell its stake in a Russian grain terminal on the Black Sea.

The move comes two months after the company, one of the world's largest food merchants, downsized its presence in Russia by ending exports of the country's grain.

"The sale is contingent on Russian Government approval and does not affect any other Cargill operations in the country," a spokeswoman said in a statement.

The sale agreement, which was first reported by Reuters, would see Cargill selling its 25% stake in its KSK grain terminal in Novorossiysk, a port city not far from the Crimean Peninsula.

Cargill says the agreement is with Delo, a Moscow-based transport and shipping company. Terms of the sale were not released.

Cargill has drawn scrutiny for continuing to do business in Russia while many other Western companies ceased operations following the Russian military's invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

However, Cargill has insisted that global food security, including the international grain trade, has necessitated the company to work with partners and run facilities inside Russia.

Earlier this year, Cargill announced that it would stop elevating Russian grain for transport by July.

Also this summer, Russia backed out of a United Nations-backed grain corridor on the Black Sea, limiting access to crops in the breadbasket of Europe and heightening food security anxieties for many around the globe.