Saudi investor ties up with Russian farmer to sell grain

A Saudi Arabian investment company has set up a joint venture with SAHO, a Siberian grain producer, to ship Russian wheat and barley to the Middle East and North Africa, the two companies said on Thursday.

The deal is a rare one between Russia and Saudi Arabia, which consumes about 15 million tonnes of grain per year. It was agreed by Metropol, a Russian domestic investment bank, as part of a debt restructuring of SAHO. The bank has an option to buy SAHO in the future.