Second Shipment of Russian Fertilizers to Africa via Europe

Russian company Uralkhim announced on Monday that a second shipment of Russian-origin fertilizers has arrived in Africa from the European Union, facilitated by the United Nations World Food Programme. The shipment weighs 34,000 tons of fertilizers, though it did not specify the names of the European ports from which the two shipments departed. This shipment, under the name Uralkhim-UralKali group, reached Kenya. The company stated that the first shipment of Russian-origin fertilizers from the EU arrived in Malawi in March, weighing 20,000 tons. However, Latvia mentioned last month that it had allowed the shipment of Russian-origin fertilizers to Kenya. This was the first shipment to depart from Latvia out of approximately 200,000 tons of Russian fertilizers that had been stored at the port of Riga since March of last year when they were seized due to EU sanctions on Russia. Russia views the seizure as a major obstacle to its continued participation in the grain supply agreement via the Black Sea, which allows Ukraine to export grain. According to sources and market data reviewed by Reuters, most of the fertilizers that were seized in Latvia are owned by Uralkhim and UralKali.