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MOSCOW. – Russia will begin importing cocoa beans from Nigeria, TASS reported on Monday, citing Moscow’s trade representative to the West African nation, Maksim Petrov, who announced that the first-ever shipments are expected from September to October.

Russian trading houses, which already export goods such as frozen fish, alcohol, chocolate, and meat to Nigeria, will carry out the deliveries, Petrov reportedly said.

According to him, there are three such export agencies registered by Russian entrepreneurs and operating in Africa’s most populous state.

“Leading Russian chocolate producers have already tested Nigerian cocoa beans and are satisfied with the quality. We expect the first container shipments in the autumn (September-October) cocoa harvest,” Petrov told TASS.

Last year, Russia increased imports of cocoa beans from Ecuador as output from West African nations Ivory Coast and Ghana, the world’s top two producers, dropped due to drought and disease, RIA Novosti reported in February.

According to data cited by the outlet, Russian imports from the South American country increased 1.6 times to 1,800 tons, while import costs increased 2.1 times to $5.7 million due to rising global cocoa bean prices.

Earlier last month, Petrov said Moscow’s decision to start direct purchases of Nigerian cocoa beans is part of a strategy to diversify imports of the commodity away from ‘unfriendly countries’ that are currently Russia’s suppliers.

Nigeria is the third-largest cocoa producer in Africa and the fourth-largest globally after Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Indonesia. – RT.com