Belarus plans to start the transshipment of potash for delivery to Iran via Dagestan’s Makhachkala port on the southwest coast of the Caspian Sea, according to a Tass report, citing a port official. According to the executive, Belarusian potash producer Belaruskali OAO will ship over 8,000 mt of potash through Makhachkala port this month, with the first shipment of 4,000 mt expected to be delivered in the second half of September.
However, it is unclear what further Belarusian potash volumes are planned to be transshipped through Makhachkala, or if transshipments also will be made to other destinations.
According to Trade Data Monitor (TDM), Iran has never imported potash from Belarus. Iran’s total potash imports in 2021 were 98,079 mt, with most of those tons coming from China and Uzbekistan, according to TDM.
Dagestan is a Russian republic and Makhachkala is the only deep-water and non-freezing Russian port on the Caspian Sea.
Belaruskali in early July was reported to have started to ship products through Russian ports, according to Russia’s Kommersant newspaper, citing unidentified people familiar with details (GM July 8, p. 1).
According to recent line-up reports from World Shipping Alliance, about 28,000 mt of Belarusian potash has left the Russian port of Novorossyisk, destined for Brazil. The cargo departed in mid-July and is expected to arrive in Brazil later this month. It is Belarusian Potash Co.’s (BPC), the marketing/export arm of Belaruskali, first officially announced cargo for Brazil since February
Belaruskali in early July was reported to have signed a contract with St. Petersburg, Russia-based operator Keystone Logistics LLC to transship 2 million mt of potash in containers through 2023, according to Bloomberg, citing the Kommersant report.
Shipments were to be directed through the Petrolesport and Neva-Metal terminals in St. Petersburg’s Bolshoi Port, as well as through the Rybny Port in Vladivostok.
A delegation from Belarus in early September was reported to have met with Murmansk region authorities to discuss the transshipment of potash via Murmansk. The port has access to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans via the Northern Sea Route.
Belarus has not been able to export potash – or NPKs – via Lithuanian rail since Feb. 1 following the Lithuanian government’s decision to end the railway transit contract between the country’s state-owned railway company Lietuvos Geležinkeliai’s (LTG) and Belaruskali over national security concerns (GM Jan. 14, p. 1). The decision followed the imposition of European Union (EU) and US sanctions on Belarusian potash trade.