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Uralchem, one of Russia’s largest fertilizer producers, has announced plans to significantly expand its exports to Africa from 1 million to 5 million tons by 2030. This was announced by the company’s CEO Dmitry Konyayev during the Russia-Africa session at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
Dmitry Konyayev emphasized that the key task for Russian fertilizer producers is not simply to supply products, but to create a sustainable market on the continent. Last year, Africa imported only about 10 million tons of fertilizers, of which Uralchem supplied 1 million, which is extremely small for the continent’s needs.
“The group’s strategic goal is to increase fertilizer imports to Africa to 5 million tons by 2030 through the creation of full-fledged market infrastructure. We see this not only as a commercial opportunity, but also as a contribution to solving the global problem of food security,” said Konyayev.
The key challenges for fertilizer suppliers remain the complex logistics infrastructure, which leads to higher prices for end farmers, and the need to build sustainable financial mechanisms.
Uralchem has already begun systematic work to address these issues by establishing joint ventures in South Africa and Côte d’Ivoire, entering into long-term contracts with local companies, and participating in humanitarian supply programs.
Since the end of 2022, Uralchem Group has delivered more than 134,000 tons of mineral fertilizers to the African continent free of charge, covering sea freight and other expenses, with the aim of mitigating the effects of the unprecedented global food crisis. More than 111,000 tons of this volume were delivered with the assistance of the UN to Malawi, Kenya, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe.
PhosAgro, which experts say accounts for 40% of total exports of all types of Russian mineral fertilizers, increased its shipments to African countries by one third in 2024. The top five countries on the continent in terms of imports of PhosAgro products included South Africa (supplies increased by 10%), Mozambique (by 80%), Morocco (5.5 times), Ethiopia, which purchased a large batch of fertilizers from PhosAgro for the first time in eight years, and Cameroon (up 60%).
Mikhail Sterkin, PhosAgro’s Deputy CEO for Sales and Marketing, said: “As a company whose products account for about 7% of total fertilizer imports by African countries, we are making an important contribution to strengthening the continent’s food security and food sovereignty.”
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