Russian fertilizer baron’s fortune grew 25% since beginning of 2024

A Russian fertilizer barron has the fastest rising fortune out of all of Russia’s billionaires despite a myriad of sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Andrey Melnichenko, the sixth-richest Russian on the list and the majority-owner of Eurochem, saw his assets grow by $6.3 billion to $25.2 billion.

The total fortune of the richest Russian oligarchs also increased by over $26 billion since the beginning of 2024, according to the list.

Melnichenko’s Eurochem, which is based in Zug in Switzerland, makes no secret on its webpage of where its raw materials come from, with it citing potash mines in three Russian locations. It also names Western Europe among its key markets.

It can do this because fertilizers, unlike many Russian products, are not subjected to sanctions..The European Union website explains that “EU sanctions explicitly exclude fertilizers. Anyone can operate, buy, transport and ensure fertilizers coming out of Russia.

Eurochem, along with other Russian fertilizer producers, are “profiting from a supply of cheap Russian gas”, a key component of synthetic fertilizer, the Court of Justice of the European Union said in a judgment on a case related to sanctions on company board members.

At the same time, its Western competitors are struggling with high gas prices owing to the effects of sanctions..

German giant BASF, the world’s largest chemicals group, has left the European market altogether, unable to compete, the Financial Times reported in June, preferring to concentrate on new investments in China and the U.S.

At that time, Polish fertilizer group Puławy’s CEO Hubert Kumola proposed a 30% tariff on mineral fertilizer from Russia and Belarus to stave off the rise in imports.

But the EU may be reluctant to impose tariffs on Russian fertilizers as they could increase costs for farmers, which, in turn, could lead to the repeat of the demonstrations seen earlier this year. .Farmers took to the streets across the continent in a series of angry protests over rising costs and red-tape.