Moscow – Russia’s largest mineral fertilizer distribution network PhosAgro-Region (a PhosAgro subsidiary) increased the total volume of mineral fertilizer sales to Russian agricultural producers by 14.3% year-on-year to 1.65 million tonnes in 1H 2019. Sales of PhosAgro mineral fertilizers to the domestic market increased by 17.4% year-on-year to 1.4 million tonnes in 1H 2019, while the volume sales of third-party products remained unchanged year-on-year.
According to the Russian Association of Fertilizer Producers, in January-June 2019 Russian farmers purchased 5.46 million tonnes of mineral fertilizers, an increase of 14.1% year-on-year.
PhosAgro CEO Andrey Guryev said: “Russian farmers are priority consumers of PhosAgro mineral fertilizers. We are growing faster than the market, with PhosAgro products representing every third tonne sold to domestic agricultural producers. The continued rapid expansion of Russian agricultural exports is one of the key growth drivers, as it requires more efficient use of arable land to increase the volume and competitiveness of crop production. The growth in demand for PhosAgro’s environmentally friendly products is partly due to projects in the field of creating a brand of Russian-made environmentally friendly products, the production of which should only use technologies that are safe for human health. PhosAgro is an active participant in this work, providing the domestic market with mineral fertilizers that are produced from unique natural pure raw materials. This gives our customers a competitive advantage, and consumers in Russia and abroad can have confidence in the safety of Russian food.”
PhosAgro Deputy CEO for Sales and Marketing Sergey Pronin noted: “Russia’s regions have a growing interest in PhosAgro’s on-the-ground presence near agricultural enterprises where we can operate in close cooperation with farms. This issue has repeatedly arisen during working meetings with regional leaders in the framework of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, and during the All-Russian Field Day, where PhosAgro is a general partner. In 1H 2019 PhosAgro laid the foundation for more dynamic work in remote areas that have no fertilizer production located nearby. To this end agreements were reached with the two largest regions of Siberia to open new regional offices of our Russian distribution network.
In the first half of 2019, PhosAgro-Region invested around RUB 250 million into the development of its network, which made it possible to simplify the delivery of mineral fertilizers to farmlands in a number of regions. By the beginning of the summer season, the capacity for the storage and delivery of liquid fertilizers directly to the fields was significantly expanded, and now PhosAgro’s liquid complex fertilizers are available even to relatively small farms. It is also worth noting the growth in demand for complex fertilizers with a high content of active ingredients, the use of which can ensure crop quality, as well as consistently strong interest in both PhosAgro’s traditional fertilizer grades, as well as new NPK grades that have been introduced to the market over the past two years.
