Belaruskali inks fertilizer sales agreement with Qatar's Muntajat
MINSK. Aug 5 (Interfax) - Belaruskali has signed a framework agreement on joint sale of mineral fertilizer with Qatar-based Muntajat, the deputy head of the Belarusian concern, Anatoly Makhlai, told Interfax.
"The framework agreement was signed in Doha on Monday with Qatar Chemical & Petrochemical Marketing & Distribution Company Muntajat on cooperation in joint sales of mineral fertilizers," Makhlai said.
"The Qatari side affirms that Muntajat is prepared to sell up to 3 million tonnes a year of potash fertilizer produced by Belaruskali," he said.
Belaruskali reckons the agreement will strengthen its presence on markets it had not previously penetrated, Makhlai said.
The agreement follows Russian Uralkali's announcement last week it would no longer export product through Belarusian Potash Company (BPC).
Uralkali said it would henceforth export product exclusively through a subsidiary, Uralkali-Trading.
The company said its "cooperation with its Belarusian partners was at a dead-end." Uralkali, which had always insisted that product from both producers be exported through the same marketing channel, had been undermined by a Belarusian presidential decree of December 22, 2012 (N566) that canceled BPC's exclusive right to export potash fertilizer.
Following the decree's publication, Belaruskali began exporting product outside the BPC framework, Uralkali said.
