A meeting with the largest producers of mineral fertilizers was held at the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation. The event, which discussed the situation on the market ahead of the high demand season, was chaired by the deputy head of the department Mikhail Ivanov.
The meeting participants confirmed their readiness to work within the framework of the agreement signed in 2019 between the Russian Association of Fertilizer Producers (RAPU) and the Agropromsoyuz - and to provide consumers with mineral fertilizers in full. The agreement, in particular, provides that in the event of a sharp change in the macroeconomic situation, various mechanisms of restraining the growth of prices for mineral fertilizers that do not violate market pricing principles can be applied (in compliance with the requirements of antimonopoly legislation). In 2020, the production of mineral fertilizers in Russia increased by 2019% compared to 5,5 and amounted to almost 55 million tons. Today Russian manufacturers produce more than 60 types of high quality mineral fertilizers, which are in demand both on the domestic and global markets.
In addition, according to the participants of the meeting, one of the factors for maintaining a stable situation with the supply of fertilizers is the advance planning and implementation by consumers of fertilizer purchases throughout the year. In a number of cases, this happens, while the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia provides subsidiary support to agrarians as part of supporting agricultural production in certain subsectors of crop and livestock production (funds can be spent to compensate for various costs), and producers are provided with information on the projected demand of the domestic market.
Last year, agricultural producers, according to statistics from the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, purchased 4 million tons of mineral fertilizers (in active ingredient), which is 466,8 thousand tons more than in 2019. According to the initial data of the regional governing bodies of the agro-industrial complex, in 2021, agrarians plan to purchase about 4,5 million tons of mineral fertilizers (11 million tons in physical weight) in the macroeconomic parameters prevailing at the end of 2020.
Taking into account the recovery trend in prices for mineral fertilizers on the world market in preparation for spring field work, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia proposes to focus efforts on coordinating the actions of producers and consumers of mineral fertilizers in order to ensure the stability of supplies of this most important product for farmers. “I think that the joint work of industries and specialized departments will allow us to confidently pass the spring and autumn periods of high demand,” noted Mikhail Ivanov.