Uralkali PJSC and its parent company, Uralchem JSC, Moscow, have cut exports of fertilizer products by 25%-30% this year to date, Interfax has reported, citing Uralchem CEO Dmitry Konyaev.
Following the imposition of European Union (E.U.) sanctions against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, Uralchem has been unable to ship product via its two terminals in Latvia, and shipments are only being made through ports in Russia’s Leningrad region, according to the report, citing the CEO.
In Latvia, Uralchem holds a 51% stake via subsidiary company Uralchem Freight Ltd. in Riga Fertilizer Terminal LLC, a joint venture with Riga Commercial Port LLC (49% stake). Uralchem is also the controlling shareholder with a 55% shareholding in SIA Ventamonjaks in the Latvian port of Ventspils. Ventamonjaks is the largest liquid ammonia transhipment terminal on the Baltic Sea, with capacity for over 1 million mt/y of ammonia.
Uralkali, on the other hand, has boosted its sales of potash delivered by rail to China this year by 1.5 times, according to the report.
Russian potash production, which includes production by both Urakali and EuroChem Group AG, in April fell 47.6% year-over-year and 40.4% compared with March, to 0.4 million mt of active ingredient, according to an Interfax report earlier this month, citing the Russian Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) (GM June 17, p. 30).