This article presents an analysis of the prospects for the development of the Southern Federal District as one of the strategic directions of the emerging center of transnational trade and an important transport hub in the system of the international transport corridor "North-South" in order to increase food security and develop the agro-food complex (hereinafter agro-food complex) in the context of changes in Russia's foreign trade under the influence of sanctions of unfriendly countries. The research is aimed at the development of the North-SOUTH MTC in conjunction with the development of the port special economic zone in Astrakhan, as well as the formation of new cargo flows of agri-food products past the Southern Sea Route, as an economically effective direction of economic development by reducing the delivery time of goods. The purpose of this study is to show that the creation, development and operation of a port–type free economic zone in the Southern Federal District will give an impetus to the formation of an effective port infrastructure of the international North-South transport corridor, which will be independent of the European embargo and at the same time comply with international standards and be a logistics hub between the ranks of the Shanghai Organization countries cooperation. The scientific novelty of the study is to assess the effectiveness of the use of freight transportation in the southern Federal District along the North-South MTC, bypassing the southern sea route, as well as the development of a port economic zone and wholesale distribution centers of the agro-industrial complex in conjunction with the North-South MTC. The example also shows which residents are present in the port SEZ in the Astrakhan region and how the SEZ connected the Caspian states, India, Southeast Asia, as well as Arab, African and other friendly countries.