Russian fertilizer giant reports 41% surge in exports to Africa

PhosAgro names the continent as its strongest growth market

Russian fertilizer producer PhosAgro has reported a 41% surge in exports to Africa for the first nine months of this year, compared to the same period of last year.

Speaking to TASS on Monday, company CEO Mikhail Rybnikov noted that the increase in deliveries to African nations is stronger than for any other region. 

“Export growth was 4% in the first nine months of the year, and we saw the same growth rate on the domestic market including third-party products, or 13% for our own production,” Rybnikov told the Russian news agency, adding that exports to Latin America have also performed well, gaining 20% during the period.

The CEO of PhosAgro, which is a leading global producer of phosphate-based fertilizers, stressed the need to keep supporting fertilizer logistics, including by rail, adding: “I believe our cargo is critical to ensuring national food security.”

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The Russian company Uralchem, one of the world’s largest fertilizer producers, has sent more than 134,000 tons of fertilizers to African nations free of charge since late 2022. In collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP), over 111,000 tons have been shipped from European ports and warehouses to Malawi, Nigeria, Kenya, and Zimbabwe.

African countries’ imports from Russia now surpass the country’s trade with North and South America, according to data from the Russian Federal Customs Service (FCS). In 2023, Africa’s share of Russian exports doubled year-on-year, rising from 2.5% to nearly 5%, while the monetary value of exports grew by 43% to $21.2 billion.

In contrast, Russian exports to the Americas fell by 40% during the same period. Their share shrank from 3.5% in 2022 to 2.9% in 2023, according to the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting (CAMAC).

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