Melnichenko said the EU initiative is an acknowledgment that its actions are worsening a global food crunch, adding the derogations won’t improve the situation as they complicate the procedures. — Reuters
JOHANNESBURG: Russian fertiliser billionaire Andrey Melnichenko is lobbying politicians in Africa to pressure the European Union (EU) into finding a solution to what he says are sanctions-related disruptions choking flows of fertiliser and vital crop nutrients.
While EU sanctions on Russia don’t target agricultural products or fertilisers, trade is still being affected, he said. That’s curbed fertiliser shipments by about nine million tonnes so far this year, said Melnichenko, the founder of EuroChem Group AG.
EU member states have been applying different sanctions policies among themselves to Russian fertiliser producers, Melnichenko, who is sanctioned himself, said.
Earlier this month, the 27-nation bloc introduced derogations – unfreezing the assets of certain individuals within the agri and fertiliser industries – in light of what it said were persisting “food security concerns” in third countries.
The ninth package of EU sanctions is part of efforts in Brussels to punish Vladimir Putin’s regime for the invasion of Ukraine, while softening any unintended consequences for world trade.
In an interview last week, Melnichenko said the EU initiative is an acknowledgment that its actions are worsening a global food crunch. The derogations won’t improve the situation as they complicate the procedures, he added.
While Russia remains one of the world’s biggest fertiliser exporters, it produced less this year after the invasion triggered sanctions.
That hit eight million tonnes of Russian shipments and another one million tonnes from EuroChem plants in Europe, according to Melnichenko.
Shortages of those nutrients boost farming costs and lower crop yields, ultimately hitting consumers as food prices soar. — Bloomberg
