Russia's PhosAgro boosts exports 10% in 5M 2025, including to India and Africa - CEO
ST. PETERSBURG. June 25 (Interfax) - PhosAgro boosted fertilizer exports 10% year-on-year to 4.3 million tonnes in January-May 2025, CEO Mikhail Rybnikov told journalists at the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2025).
"After fully covering the needs of Russian farmers, we increased exports by approximately 10% or 400,000 tonnes to 4.3 million tonnes in the first five months of 2025. This includes almost 1 million tonnes supplied to India compared to 700,000 tonnes the previous year, and exports to Africa also grew by a third," Rybnikov said.
He also said that supply to the domestic market was following the same trends as last year. "We are not seeing any reduction in consumption. The overwhelming majority of agricultural companies have an annual purchasing plan and annual fertilizer budget. We don't expect purchasing to decrease before the end of this year," Rybnikov said.
He said that the increase in EU import duties on fertilizers from Russia and Belarus starting from July 1 would cause market prices to rise. "On the U.S. market, when they brought in import duties for Russian products, prices rose $100 above global prices at one stage. The same thing will happen on the European market, which is also in need of urgently reorganizing its logistics. Plus, alternative suppliers will probably raise prices. At first, this will all be paid for by European farmers - or the state, if it grants subsidies to farmers - and then after that they will have to try and find ways to cope," Rybnikov said.
He said that Europe had been decreasing fertilizer consumption for many years. "This compromises the quality of wheat and means that Europe may gradually move from being an exporter to being an importer [of wheat]," Rybnikov said.
He said that if exporting to the European market ceases to be worthwhile for PhosAgro due to increased import tariffs, the company could redirect these products to more marginal markets. "We work on the basis of where the best netbacks are. If European markets close, then we will move on to the markets with the best netbacks at that moment, whether that be Africa, Brazil or India. We also have high hopes for the development of the Russian market in future. The Agriculture Ministry plans growth [in fertilizer consumption] from 5.5 million tonnes to 8 million tonnes [of active ingredient] by 2030," the CEO of PhosAgro said.
Fertilizer prices are currently growing across the world "due to European tariffs, the situation in the Middle East and decreased stocks in India," Rybnikov said.
"Diammonium phosphate prices were previously forecast in the region of $500 per tonne, but this has now risen above $700 per tonne. If we look at America, CFR prices are above $800 per tonne. And they are approaching the same level in India due to low stocks," he said.
Rybnikov also said that urea prices had grown from $350 per tonne to $450 per tonne last week due to the situation in Iran.
