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Russia Sends 34,000 Tonnes of Fertilizer to Kenya From EU Ports

14:00, 22 April 2023
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The delivery is the Uralchem-Uralkali Group’s second donation in a series of shipments of its fertilizers, currently stored in the European ports and warehouses, to a number of African countries.
Sputnik
A humanitarian shipment of 34,000 tonnes of fertilizer has been loaded onto a vessel in Riga, Latvia, and started its journey to Kenya's city of Mombasa, according to a statement from Russia's Uralchem-Uralkali Group obtained by Sputnik Africa.
The shipment, comprising of potash, urea and NPKS, is again being implemented in close cooperation with the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP), which has chartered a vessel to transport the fertilizers, the Uralchem-Uralkali Group said.
As with the previous joint shipment, the company said it covers the sea freight and other delivery costs. Uralchem-Uralkali stressed that it is committed to donating a total of approximately 300,000 tonnes of mineral fertilizers to developing nations to alleviate the unprecedented global food crisis and prevent significant crop loss in countries that face such risks.
Dmitry Konyaev, Uralchem CEO, emphasized the importance of fertilizers to global food security.

"Fertilizers play an immensely important role in global food security systems and over 40% of the world population depends on agricultural items grown with the help of plant nutrients," Konyaev said. "The surges in fertilizer prices that took place in recent years led to significant cutbacks in food production, especially among smallholder farmers from the developing world. And this has put millions of people at risk of starvation."

Konyaev also announced the company's intention to prioritize supplies to countries most in need.

"We believe that access to food is a basic human right and that the ongoing unprecedented food insecurity crisis can be alleviated only by joint efforts. As one of the major global producers of fertilizers we continue to donate our plant nutrients to those who need it the most," Konyaev pointed out. "We look forward to this latest shipment being delivered to Kenya and distributed among local farmers, enabling them to reap a fruitful harvest as soon as possible."

The previous consignment from Europe to the world’s second most populous continent consisted of 20,000 tonnes of complex fertilizer and was officially handed over to Malawi in early March.
Last November, the Uralchem-Uralkali Group announced that more than 260,000 tonnes of its fertilizers were blocked in European ports, which the company was ready to deliver to African countries free of charge.
Co-owner of the company Dmitry Mazepin explained that it was unable to pay for the freight on its own due to the restrictive measures but agreed on assistance from the UN. Earlier, Moscow offered to donate Russian fertilizers blocked in the ports of Latvia, Estonia, Belgium and the Netherlands to the poorest countries. The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that at least 262,000 tonnes were involved.
Sub-Saharan AfricaRussiaKenyaMalawihumanitarian spherefertilizersEast AfricaeconomyInternational