Russia gives fertilizer to Malawi, seeks African support

Russia will give 260,000 tons of fertilizer to countries in the continent, Russian Ambassador to Malawi Nikolai Krasilnikov said at a handover ceremony Monday at the capital, Lilongwe.

He said he hopes African leaders will press for the abolition of international sanctions against Russia when they attend the second Russia-Africa summit to be held in St. Petersburg at the end of July.

The Russian manufacturer Uralchem-Ukalkali had produced the fertilizer and made the gift to Malawi, said Dmitry Shornikov, head of the firm’s southern Africa branch, who also attended the handover.

The fertilizer should help Malawi achieve its goals of substantially boosting its agricultural production and helping families grow more healthy and nutritious food, said Shornikov.

Malawi’s minister of Agriculture Kawale said the fertilizer will reach 400,000 farming households and boost their agricultural production.

Also attending the event was a representative of the United Nations’ World Food Program.

Malawi voted to censure Russia at the United Nations last year for its invasion of Ukraine. More than 15 other African countries abstained from the vote.

Brazil's fertilizer lobby pledges $4 billion outlay to cut import dependence

Global fertilizer makers said they would invest a combined 21 billion reais ($4 billion) in Brazil over four years to boost output capacity in one of the world's largest producers and exporters of staples like soy and corn.

In a statement on Thursday, industry lobby Sinprifert, which represents firms like Mosaic, Yara and EuroChem, said boosting production capacity and bringing idle fertilizer plants online would reduce Brazil's dependence on imports.

"The war between Russia and Ukraine highlighted the fragility and unpredictability of our domestic supply," Bernardo Silva, executive director of Sinprifert, said in the statement. "Brazil has done its homework ... and companies are investing and betting on the re-industrialization of the sector."

The investment pledge followed on the heels of a plan announced by the Brazilian government last year to reduce the country's reliance on imports for nutrients like potash. That move rekindled foreign interest in some projects and attracted new ones.

In 2015, the industry began to go through consolidation and 70% of the fertilizers used in Brazil were imported, Sinprifert said. That rose to 90% in 2021, it added.

Last year, local farmers fretted about potential supply shortages as exporters Russia and Belarus faced Western sanctions, while China, another key producer of fertilizers, was restricting exports, Sinprifert noted.

Conditions are favorable for the Brazilian industry's expansion, the lobby group said. But it called on the government to ensure "institutional stability" and support to help firms be competitive on a global stage.