Latvia, Estonia and Belgium are blocking Russian fertilizers in their ports, the Russian ambassador to Turkey has said. Only part of the fertilizer was sent to Malawi, he points out.
The delivery of Russian fertilizers to poor countries is lagging, notes Alexei Yerkhov, Russian ambassador to Turkey.
“There are even delays in the transfer of Russian fertilizers to poor countries […]. Latvia, Estonia and Belgium keep our products in their ports,” he said in an interview with Turkish daily Yeni Safak.
Only a small part of the shipments was sent to Malawi, he added. This delivery was made as part of the Russian initiative to deliver the stranded fertilizers to African countries free of charge. At the end of November 2022, a shipment of 20,000 tons left the Netherlands for Malawi. At the end of December, the ship carrying the agricultural products entered the Mozambican port of Beira, Malawi having no access to the sea.
Fertilizer for Nigeria and Kenya stuck in Latvia
Despite the fact that the grain agreement reached in July 2022 provided for the unblocking of Russian food and fertilizer exports, Moscow has repeatedly indicated that this part of the agreements has never been respected, despite assurances from theHIM.
At the end of December, Uralchem, a Russian fertilizer producer, announced that nearly 200,000 tonnes of its products remained blocked in a Latvian port. These fertilizers were intended for Nigeria and Kenya.