Russia guarantees continued fertilizer exports to Brazil – Agriculture Ministry

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – “We had a guarantee, both from the Russian government and from fertilizer companies, that we will not have supply issues with fertilizers, both potassium and phosphates,” Tereza Cristina said.

Russian Minister of Economic Development Maksim Reshetnikov said that the supply of potassium- and phosphate-based fertilizers to Brazil will be maintained and, if possible, exports will be increased for the next harvest. “The Minister reinforced that Brazil is a strategic partner and we can be fully reassured about the supply of potassium and phosphorus,” the Minister said.

As reported by the Ministry of Agriculture, she met with Vladimir Kantor, vice-president of Acron, a global producer of complex mineral fertilizers, who guaranteed an increase of at least 10% in fertilizer exports to Brazil. He also announced the continuation of negotiations for the acquisition of Petrobras’ assets in the Nitrogenated Fertilizer Unit (UFN-3), in Três Lagoas (MS).

“Brazil can count on us as a partner to guarantee fertilizer supply to Brazil,” said Russian company PhosAgro CEO Andrey Guryev. The chemical holding company is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of phosphate fertilizers.

EuroChem CEO Vladimir Rashevskiy presented the Minister Tereza Cristina with the company’s investment plans in Brazil to increase the national production of fertilizers. EuroChem is a global leader in the production of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium fertilizers.

The goal of the Minister’s trip is to start negotiations with the main suppliers of fertilizers, an essential product for agricultural and livestock production which is facing restrictions in global supply.

FERTILIZER PRODUCTION IN RUSSIA

Russia represents about 20% of total fertilizers imported by Brazil. Recently, the Russian government announced restrictions on nitrogen fertilizer exports by means of export quotas for a period of 6 months starting on December 1, in order to avoid shortages in the domestic market.

On Thursday, November 18, Tereza Cristina is to meet with the CEO of Uralkali, a Russian producer and exporter of potassium-based fertilizers.

MEAT EXPORTS

In Moscow, Tereza Cristina also met with the head of Russia’s Federal Service of Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance Sergey Dankvert, who guaranteed an inspection visit to Brazil in the first quarter of 2022, to enable the accreditation of new Brazilian meat packing plants for export.

The Russian government announced that it will open a quota of 300,000 tons of meat (200,000 tons of beef and 100,000 tons of pork) with a zero import tariff for 6 months, a potential market for Brazil. The current import tariff is 15% for up to 530,000 tons.