Poland imposes sanctions against Belarusian supplier of Grodno Azot products

MINSK. Dec 5 (Interfax) - The Polish authorities have imposed sanctions against the NFT nitrogen fertilizer supplier, registered in the Grodno Region of Belarus, with the corresponding information entered in Poland's list of persons and enterprises subject to sanctions and posted on the website of the country's Internal Affairs Ministry.

"By purchasing Grodno Azot products, directly or indirectly, and then exporting them, NFT bypasses sanction restrictions, including the ban on the import and export of Belarusian products from sanctioned entities, regardless of the country, company or other intermediary circumstances," the Polish authorities said in substantiating the decision, given that NFT does not produce nitrogen fertilizers.

Poland's Internal Affairs Ministry emphasizes that Grodno Azot, "which is one of the two largest chemical enterprises in Belarus and a key player in the region in the production of nitrogen fertilizers," was included in the European Union's sanctions list in December 2021, and the export of products to Poland ceased. "At the same time, other entities, including NFT LLC, began exporting its products to Poland," the ministry said.

In addition to the ban on deliveries, the restrictive measures against NFT include freezing all of the company's funds and economic resources in Poland, excluding the company from public procurement or tender procedures, and other measures.

Poland previously imposed similar restrictions against the Beloil Polska oil trader; MTZ and its sales structure, Belarus Traktor; the Polish enterprise of MAZ Auto Poland; Mozyrsol; and a number of other companies.

Grodno Azot is one of the largest chemical enterprises in the CIS and Eastern Europe, producing nitric acid, nitrogen mineral fertilizers, caprolactam, methanol, and other types of chemical products. The enterprise is state-owned and is part of Belneftekhim, the Belarusian state oil and petrochemicals concern.