Russia’s Phosagro to Double Fertilizer Supplies to Africa in 5 Years

Russia’s largest fertilizer producer Phosagro has increased its mineral fertilizer supplies to Africa five-fold over the past few years and plans to double them by 2029 to address the acute issue of food shortages on the continent, the company said on Friday.

Fertilizer supplies from Russia, the world’s largest exporter of soil-enhancing natural substances, have changed significantly since early 2022. Moscow now prioritizes supplying friendly countries, shifting away from previous export routes to states that have imposed unprecedented sanctions.

In the first six months of 2024, Phosagro increased its fertilizer supplies to Africa by 74% compared with a year ago, according to the company, which joined the Arab Fertilizer Association (AFA) in early 2024 in a move that highlights its strong connections to the Muslim world.

Over the past five years, Phosagro has significantly increased its mineral fertilizer supplies to 21 African countries, growing from 118 thousand tonnes in 2018 to 557 thousand tonnes in 2023. This effort aims to enhance food security in the region, a pressing issue that has been a concern for major global institutions for decades.

The World Bank has highlighted that disruptions in global agricultural trade since February 2022 have not only heightened food insecurity but also increased African countries’ reliance on Russia, the world’s largest exporter of fertilizer.

“In sum, it’s urgent to make fertilizers more accessible and affordable to avoid prolonging the food crisis. Lives and livelihoods depend on the choices of policymakers,” the World Bank said in late 2022.

As if in response to this advice, Phosagro plans to boost its annual fertilizer exports to Africa to 1 million tonnes. This increase will follow the launch of a new fertilizer factory in northwest Russia near St. Petersburg, which will utilize the ports of the Baltic Sea to ship products to friendly countries.

The list of friendly countries includes predominantly Muslim states such as Algeria, Morocco, and Libya in northern Africa, Egypt and Mauritania in northeast Africa, as well as Côte d’Ivoire, the Republic of Mali, Senegal, and Sierra Leone in western Africa.

Analysts say the African fertilizer market remains relatively small, but due to its low starting point, it has the potential to become one of the most prominent markets in the coming decades.