Demand on Russian fertilizers in the world will grow to avoid food crisis

Fertilizers are a scarce commodity today, and there will inevitably be a demand for Russian products in the world, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

"There is a shortage of fertilizers today, and they will buy what they are short of. They will. No one wants to die of hunger,” Putin said, adding that Russia "has no desire to harm anyone."

"We just need to carefully deal with all this, to study both logistics and insurance issues,” he added.

At the same time, the head of state called on the government to closely monitor the situation with fertilizers, pointing out that domestic needs should be a priority.

"The priority task is to ensure reliable supplies of our agricultural producers with fertilizers,” Putin said.

He also instructed to bring the agro-industrial complex to growth rates above three percent per year and increase food production. One will need to bring in new agricultural lands and use them more actively for the purpose.

In early March, the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade warned of the risk of a major crisis in the global fertilizer market due to problems with the supplies of Russian fertilizer products to foreign countries. The likelihood of crop failure may increase, and the world may eventually come to the point of a food crisis. Minister Denis Manturov recalled that Russia is one of the world's leading suppliers of mineral fertilizers. Due to the lack of guarantees from foreign logistics operators, the ministry recommended manufacturers suspend export shipments of fertilizers until carriers resumed normal operation.

Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev said on March 21 that Russian fertilizer producers need to conclude agreements with the government to contain the price growth. According to him, the volume of Russian production now makes it possible to fully satisfy the needs of agriculture.