Uralkali signed an agreement for the supply of potassium chloride to India

“Uralkali» signed an agreement with the Indian importer of mineral fertilizers Indian Potash Limited (IPL) for the supply of potassium chloride until September 30, 2023, informed press service of the Russian company. It is specified that the price of potash fertilizers supplied to India is $422 per ton on the terms of delivery to the buyer’s port (CFR).

“The agreement reached objectively reflects the current situation in the industry. We see that the market reacted positively to our initiative and expect that the Indian contract will become one of the main price benchmarks this year,” the company’s press service quoted Uralkali CEO Vitaly Lauk as saying.

In 2020 it was knownWhat “Uralkali Trading (a 100% subsidiary of Uralkali) signed a contract for the supply of potassium chloride to India by the end of the year. Then the price of potash fertilizers supplied to India was $230 per ton.

In December 2022, the press service of the Russian Association of Fertilizer Producers (RAPU) informedthat the export of mineral fertilizers from Russia decreased by 15% in 2022. The export of fertilizers from Russia in 2021, according to the association, amounted to 37.6 million tons. In January-November, more than 25 million tons of mineral fertilizers were exported from the country, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on December 15, 2022.

Total exports fell primarily due to a decrease in the export of potash fertilizers, a representative of the RAPU explained to Vedomosti. This is a consequence of the continuing shortage of port facilities for their export, and in Russia the use of potassium chloride is insignificant, he noted.

In addition, fertilizer exports in 2022 were affected by Western sanctions. Shortly after the start of the special military operation, the EU imposed sanctions on the shareholders of Russia’s largest fertilizer producers, causing the companies to face problems in transportation, insurance and receiving payments from international customers.

As a result, deliveries of Russian potash to Europe decreased by 1.2 million tons to 0.7 million tons in 2022, exports of phosphate fertilizers fell 1.5 times to 2 million tons, the RAPU press release said.

Starting from June-July 2022, Russian manufacturers began to increase supplies to the markets of friendly countries, the association notes. According to preliminary data, exports of Russian fertilizers to India almost tripled to 3.6 million tons in 2022, mainly due to an increase in the supply of phosphate fertilizers. Also, Russian producers almost 1.5 times increased their exports to the Middle East (primarily to Turkey) to 700,000 tons. In addition, according to RAPU, “the share of Russian fertilizers in the African market has significantly increased.”