Latest news with #Uralchem
Reuters
04-08-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Russia hopes swimming return paves way for end to sporting neutrality
LONDON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - One of the key figures behind diplomatic efforts that secured Russian swimmers' return to elite competition at this week's world championships is now hoping to end Russia's sporting neutrality as officials push for wider Olympic participation. The Russian Olympic Committee was banned for violating the Olympic Charter in relation to Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but some of its athletes competed as neutrals at last year's Paris Olympics and sports such as swimming are gradually welcoming more Russians back into the fold. Dmitry Mazepin, President of the Russian Aquatic Sports Federation and Vice President of the ROC, told Reuters he would do his best to ensure that Russian athletes compete under their national flag in time for the Los Angeles 2028 summer Olympics and urged the sporting community to end double standards. "If you are in the wrong sport, you will be punished," Mazepin said in a telephone interview, pointing to sports like tennis and ice hockey, where individuals have been allowed to continue competing, while many swimmers have been left out in the cold. "I'm happy for the moment that my athletes and swimmers can compete everywhere," he said. "Unfortunately with the neutral flag, but they can compete." Mazepin ceded majority control of Russian fertiliser giant Uralchem in March 2022 and was sanctioned by Britain, the EU and Canada after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He said negotiations on swimming participation included personal meetings with World Aquatics President Husain Al-Musallam and countering what he called "political" opposition from certain countries, particularly Nordic states. The doping scandals that plagued Russian sport for years no longer form a part of opposition to Russians' participation, Mazepin said. "It's always about political cases," Mazepin said. "We do not discuss any doping issues." Mazepin said sanctions have caused him problems, such as his being unable to attend the short course world championships in Budapest in December, or take meetings at IOC headquarters in Lausanne. He was, however, able to attend this week's World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. In October 2023, the IOC suspended the ROC for admitting regional sports organisations under the authority of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine as members. The four Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia were annexed after referendums that Western nations have dismissed as shams. Mazepin said the ROC had made changes, now structured by federation rather than geography, and was pushing the IOC to remove restrictions based on its new structure. A final decision will ultimately come down to new IOC President Kirsty Coventry, but previous IOC statements suggest any significant relief for Russia is unlikely while it continues to wage war in Ukraine. The IOC has condemned Russia's "senseless war", describing it as a violation of the Olympic Charter for which it holds the Russian and Belarusian states and governments solely responsible. Mazepin criticised what he views as another double standard - that nations involved in other conflicts around the world have not also been punished in sporting terms. "We, as the Russian sports community, are asking why we were punished and others were not touched," Mazepin said. Mazepin is also dreaming of a Russian return to Formula One. His son Nikita raced for the U.S.-owned Haas team before Russia invaded Ukraine and the deal was ended. Haas terminated a sponsorship contract with Russian potash producer Uralkali, then controlled by Mazepin, in 2022 and repaid the balance last year after legal action and a visit by bailiffs at the Dutch Grand Prix. Mazepin said politics was still keeping Russia away from the sport for now. "But we are dreaming of a comeback," he said.
Russia Today
09-07-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
Russia eyes deeper trade ties with Africa
Africa is becoming an increasingly important market for Russian exporters, offering vast untapped potential for trade expansion and investment, vice president of the Russian Export Center (REC) has said. Speaking at the INNOPROM-2025 industrial forum on Tuesday, Tatyana An noted that the REC is providing Russian businesses with financial instruments and export support services to facilitate their entry into African markets. Although export volumes to Africa are rising steadily, An acknowledged that trade remains concentrated in a limited number of countries and product categories. 'Wheat and oil products account for about 65% of supplies,' she said, emphasizing the need to diversify both sectorally and geographically. In 2024, REC-supported export deliveries to African countries totaled 121.8 billion rubles (approximately $1.5 billion), with the main destinations including Egypt, Sudan, Libya, Tunisia, Cote d'Ivoire, Algeria, and Morocco. At the 28th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in June, Dmitry Konyaev, CEO of Uralchem, one of Russia's largest fertilizer producers, outlined plans to increase annual fertilizer shipments to Africa fivefold, from 1 million metric tons to 5 million by 2030. He called the target 'real results and real achievements' for both Uralchem and the continent's agricultural development. Mikhail Rybnikov, the CEO of PhosAgro, another major Russian fertilizer company, said the key buyers of the company's products now include South Africa, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Cameroon, and Morocco. Russia's agricultural exports to the continent surpassed $7 billion in 2024, a 19% year-on-year increase, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. Russian food products reached 45 African countries, with Egypt remaining the largest importer of Russian wheat. Cairo also imported sunflower and soybean oil, legumes, flax seeds, and yeast from Russia. According to Igor Pavensky, head of the analysis department at Rusagrotrans, a railway infrastructure operator company, in the 2023/2024 marketing season, African countries imported 21.2 million tons of Russian wheat, representing 38% of total Russian wheat exports, a record high. The figure is up from 17.6 million tons in 2022/2023 and 10.6 million tons in 2021/2022. By late 2024, Russia had displaced France as Morocco's top grain supplier, driven by competitive pricing and a reduction in French export volumes, according to Russia's Center of Grain Quality Assurance. In April, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a 50% increase in agricultural exports by 2030 compared to 2021 levels, which totaled $37 billion.
Russia Today
20-06-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
Russian fertilizer giant to boost exports to Africa
Uralchem, one of Russia's largest fertilizer producers, has announced plans to dramatically expand exports to Africa, with a target of 5 million metric tons per year by 2030. The company's CEO, Dmitry Konyaev, unveiled the goal at the 'Business dialogue Russia-Africa' panel discussion at the 28th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Thursday. Konyaev said the goal of increasing annual shipments from 1 million metric tons at the end of 2024 to 5 million by the end of the decade would represent 'real results and real achievements' for both Uralchem and Africa's agricultural sector. He added that by the end of 2024, Africa had imported only 10 million tons of fertilizers, which he described as disproportionately low for the continent. According to the Uralchem CEO, the low distribution of fertilizers in Africa is a result of internal structural barriers, including poor logistics infrastructure and complicated financial settlement mechanisms. 'Often, an African farmer pays more than a European [farmer] for the same fertilizers. It's absolutely absurd,' Konyaev stated. To address these challenges, Uralchem has decided to pursue local distribution by creating joint ventures with African states. The company has already launched operations in South Africa and Cote d'Ivoire, according to Konyaev. Mikhail Rybnikov, the CEO of PhosAgro, another major Russian fertilizer company, said the key buyers of the company's products now include South Africa, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Cameroon, and Morocco. 'Our company makes an important contribution to strengthening food security and food sovereignty in African countries,' Rybnikov said. Since late 2022, Uralchem has supplied more than 134,000 tons of fertilizers to African nations free of charge. Over 111,000 tons have been shipped from European ports and warehouses to Malawi, Nigeria, Kenya, and Zimbabwe in collaboration with the UN World Food Program.
Reuters
14-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Kremlin's fertilizer cash stream is blind spot in EU sanctions: Vladimirov
March 14 - The European Union's efforts to limit Russia's war chest will likely continue to intensify despite news of a potential ceasefire with Ukraine, as the EU must now shoulder more responsibility for its own security given the rupture in the transatlantic alliance. Yet the bloc continues to overlook one of the Kremlin's critical revenue channels: fertilisers. Russian fertiliser exports to the EU surged by over 33% in 2024 alone, reaching 6.2 million tonnes worth over €2.2 billion. This trade, exempt from sanctions, generated an estimated €550 million in tax revenue for the Russian state. Poland, by far the biggest buyer of Russian fertilizers, saw purchases more than double in 2024. The war in Ukraine disrupted global energy markets, which significantly reduced the EU's domestic fertilizer production. The price of natural gas, the main input commodity for the production of fertilizers, surged to record high levels following the onset of the conflict, and at one point, roughly 70% of ammonia production capacity in Europe was either shut down or idled. Russian producers have successfully tapped this supply gap to expand sales to the most vulnerable markets. While the EU has diminished Russian natural gas imports from 40% of the total in 2021 to around 10% after the halt in the Ukrainian gas transit at the end of 2024, Russia has taken advantage of its enormous gas production surpluses to successfully replace part of the gas export revenues with fertilisers sales. This increase in Russian fertilizer sales is not confined to Europe. Globally, Russian companies have capitalised on post-invasion price volatility by offering fertilisers at steep discounts of over 20%, enabling them to capture greater market share. Nowhere is this more evident than in Latin America, opens new tab, where agricultural exports are a core economic driver. Brazil has become the world's largest market for Russian fertilisers, accounting for 25% of Moscow's global sales (around $4 billion per year). Russia's fertiliser strategy appears to mirror its historical use of natural gas exports: it leverages supply dependence to secure strategic influence. By embedding itself in global food production chains, Moscow has gained new geopolitical leverage, particularly in regions like Latin America and South Asia that are highly exposed to agricultural shocks. Any future disruption in Russian fertiliser exports, whether from sanctions or market shifts, could have severe implications not just for regional economies, but for global food prices. STRATEGIC LOOPHOLE The fertilizer dependence goes two ways, though. The Russian fertilizer industry is heavily reliant on exports, with 64% of its production sold abroad. However, the shifting dynamics of the global fertiliser market have opened a strategic loophole allowing several large Russian companies to profit by effectively controlling the fertilizer trade with the European Union. These leading Russian producers – Uralchem, Acron Group and EuroChem – are consequently flush with cash and expanding aggressively. EuroChem recently opened a $1 billion fertiliser plant in Brazil, while Uralchem is building major new production facilities in Russia's Perm region. The European fertiliser industry, meanwhile, continues to struggle. Domestic producers face higher labour costs, stricter environmental regulations, and weaker policy support. To level the playing field, European manufacturers have called for a more forceful response. The industry organization Fertilisers Europe has proposed an immediate tariff floor of 30%, which would increase every six months. But some European producers argue that a response now may be too late as Russia has already seized nearly a third of the EU's fertiliser import market, up from just 17% in 2022. This has placed domestic producers at a competitive disadvantage and deepened the bloc's exposure to geopolitical risk. The EU is also pursuing structural change. The European Commission is reviewing regulatory constraints under its Nitrates Directive, opens new tab to enable greater use of manure-based fertilisers while addressing environmental concerns such as nitrogen runoff. However, such transitions will take time, and Russian producers' grip on the market is continuing to expand now. The fertiliser trade has become a critical blind spot in Europe's sanctions regime. But limiting Russian fertiliser revenues could become a geopolitical necessity now that the bloc can no longer depend on U.S. support in any efforts to pressure Moscow. Inaction may no longer be an option. (The views expressed here are those of Martin Vladimirov, the Director of the Geoeconomics Program of the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD)) Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.
Russia Today
25-02-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
Russia plans to increase fertilizer supplies to Ghana
Russia is considering increasing its fertilizer exports to Ghana, Dmitry Mazepin, an official of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), has stated. The West African nation has experienced a decline in agricultural output in recent years, contributing to a global cocoa bean shortage. The chairman of the RSPP commission on fertilizer production told Rossiya-24 in an interview published on Monday that Russia has extensive interests in Africa, with Ghana being strategically important for various reasons, including its agricultural sector. 'I flew to Ghana for the first time at the invitation of the country's leader. We hope that we will understand under what conditions we can expand our presence,' Mazepin stated. He said last year alone, the African country imported about 100,000 tons of Russian fertilizers. According to Observatory of Economic Complexity data, Ghana imported $27.8 million worth of nitrogenous fertilizers from Russia in 2023. 'We want to increase these figures, so I flew in to see what opportunities we have,' the former CEO of Russian fertilizer giant Uralchem said. Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, who took office in January, has pledged to ensure food security by increasing local production under the Agriculture for Economic Transformation Agenda. On February 14, the country's agriculture minister told lawmakers that the government is determined to boost crop yield and secure Ghana's position as the world's second largest cocoa producer. Russia is one of the world's leading fertilizer producers. However, Western sanctions imposed on Moscow in connection with the Ukraine conflict have affected deliveries, which plunged 15% year-on-year in 2022. A total of 262,000 tons of Russian fertilizers had been blocked at ports in Latvia, Estonia, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Moscow offered to give the commodity for free to countries in need, including Africa, in order to strengthen the continent's food security. Since late 2022, Uralchem has supplied more than 134,000 tons of fertilizers to African nations free of charge. Over 111,000 tons have been shipped from European ports and warehouses to Malawi, Nigeria, Kenya, and Zimbabwe in collaboration with the UN World Food Program. In November, Russian fertilizer producer PhosAgro reported a 41% surge in exports to Africa for the first nine months of 2024, compared to the same period of the previous year.
