Russia may extend its freeze on fertilizer prices until next May, Russia’s Vedomosti newspaper reported on Oct. 26, citing people familiar with the government’s discussions. An alternate option would be for Russian fertilizer producers to make agreements with individual regions, according to the report.
Earlier this month, the largest Russian fertilizer producers made a voluntary decision to extend a freeze on domestic prices through Dec. 31, the Russian Fertilizers Producers Association (RAPU) said in a statement, according to a Bloomberg report. Prices were fixed in July, initially until the end of October.
The measures are aimed at helping farmers buy nutrients for spring sowing as global prices for fertilizers continue to rise.
Last week, RAPU said while producers will prioritize domestic sales to meet domestic demand, they are able to boost output to satisfy additional European demand (GM Oct. 22, p. 33).
According to the producer’s association’s statement last week, as cited by Bloomberg, Russian farmers already have completed 95 percent of their fertilizer purchases for this year.