LONDON (ICIS)--The Russian Fertilizer Producers Association (RFPA) has welcomed news that the European council will not impose any sanctions on fertilizers.
The European Council said that EU sanctions do not target trade in agricultural and food products, (including wheat and fertilisers) between third countries and Russia.
Phytosanitary products (including herbicides, fertilizers and agricultural machineries) can be exported from the EU to Russia without restrictions, provided that no listed persons are involved. The cap and restrictions on certain fertilizers only apply to products imported into the EU and do not concern EU exports to Russia or Belarus.
The RFPA said that Russia plays a key role in providing the world with food. Russia is, by a wide margin, the second largest producer of fertilizers in the world (after China) and has become a key exporter of fertilizers globally. Last year, 29% of all fertilizers imported by Europe were produced in Russia.
Sanctions imposed by a number of countries, including the EU, are having a serious negative impact on the supply of fertilizers to world markets.
“This is reflected, in particular, in the refusal of transport companies to provide vessels for the transportation of cargo of Russian origin (even if the cargo itself and/or the cargo owners are not under sanctions), in the refusal to provide insurance for transportation from Russia, in restrictions on vessel calls at Russian ports, and in difficulties with financial clearing for transactions due to time-consuming banking compliance procedures," RFPA president Andrey Guryev said.
He added that these artificially created barriers are destroying established logistics schemes and supply chains used to deliver fertilizers to end consumers, and are therefore further escalating the food crisis.
The association hopes that “an EU directive/resolution/authorisation or other document will be issued in the near future that will guarantee banks, insurance companies, shipping companies, and suppliers of technologies and equipment for the mineral fertilizer industry in the EU and third countries that their relations with Russian fertilizer producers will not be looked at through the prism of sanctions legislation.”
The Association currently has 15 members, which supply more than 90% of the total domestic Russian market for mineral fertilizers.