MOSCOW, January 28. / TASS /. Fertilizer producer Phosagro in 2020 increased fertilizer production by 5%, to 10.16 million tons. Sales rose 5.3% to 9.95 million tonnes, the company said.
At the same time, in the IV quarter of 2020, the volume of fertilizer sales decreased by 10% compared to the same period in 2019, to 2 million tons. The company explains the decline in sales both by the large number of postponed shipments at the end of December, and by the wait-and-see attitude against the backdrop of rising fertilizer prices. Fertilizer production in Q4 increased by 4% compared to the same period in 2019 and amounted to 2.4 million tons.
Release and sales
In 2020, the production of phosphorus-containing fertilizers and feed phosphates increased by 4.4% to 7.5 million tons. At the end of the IV quarter, growth in this segment amounted to 3.5%, to 1.8 million tons. The production of nitrogen fertilizers in 2020 increased by 6.7% to 2.4 million tons. In the IV quarter, it grew by 6% to 613 thousand tons. The volume of production of apatite and nepheline concentrate at the end of the last year amounted to 11.7 million tons (an increase of 0.1%), according to the results of IV - 2.8 million tons (a decrease of 3.6%).
Sales volumes of phosphate fertilizers and feed phosphates in 2020 increased by 5.7% to 7.7 million tonnes. At the same time, according to the results of the IV quarter, this figure lost 11% - to 1.5 million tons. Annual sales of nitrogen fertilizers of the company increased by 4% (2.3 million tons), in the IV quarter - decreased by 7%, to 500 thousand tons. Fertilizer sales on the domestic market for the year increased by 8% to 2.9 million tonnes, including by 15% for IV kartal, to 449 thousand tonnes. Phosagro ranks first in Europe and third in the world in the production of phosphorus-containing fertilizers. The main owner of the company is the structure of the deputy chairman of the board of directors of Phosagro, Andrey Guryev Sr. and his family members, as well as the rector of the St. Petersburg Mining University, Vladimir Litvinenko.
Export situation
By the end of 2020, Phosagro cut the supply of phosphate fertilizers to North America by almost two times against the background of duties imposed by its American competitor. At the same time, it increased supplies to India by 60% and to Africa by 69%, the company said.
"Sales of phosphate fertilizers to North America for 12 months of 2020 amounted to about 316.5 thousand tons, which is almost two times lower than the volume of sales for the same period in 2019. And is associated with both the unfavorable price situation in the American market at the beginning of the year, as well as and Mosaic's petition against US suppliers of phosphate fertilizers from Morocco and Russia, "the report said. Phosagro notes that it has reoriented the supply of these fertilizers to other markets, including Canada and India, without loss. In general, the company increased export sales of all types of fertilizers in 2020 by 4.2%, to 7.1 million tons. Phosagro reduced sales of phosphate fertilizers in Europe by 3% in 2020 (to 2.04 million tonnes) and by 17% in Q4 (480 thousand tonnes), sales in the CIS decreased by 17.6% to 302 thousand tons. Meanwhile, supplies of phosphate fertilizers to Latin America for the year increased by 10.5%, to 1.14 million tons, to India - by 63%, to 924 thousand tons, to Africa - by almost 70%, to 440 thousand tons. tons. Last November, US fertilizer producer Mosaic announced that the US Department of Commerce had imposed preliminary offsetting duties on phosphate fertilizer imports from Russia and Morocco. Earlier, the US International Trade Commission concluded that imports of phosphate fertilizers from Russia and Morocco are damaging the American economy. A corresponding investigation began on June 26 at the initiative of Mosaic, which claimed that competitors from Russia and Morocco had an advantage in the US market thanks to government subsidies.
