The government plans to transfer the fertilizer market from the Ministry of Industry and Trade to the Ministry of Agriculture in order to increase the efficiency of regulation.
Most likely, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will remain responsible for the production of fertilizers, but the regulation of turnover will be transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture.
Currently, a draft government resolution is ready, which will assign all the necessary powers to the Ministry of Agriculture. It is planned that the resolution will come into force on November 1 of this year.
At the same time, most likely, in order to take over the fertilizer market, the Ministry of Agriculture will have to make additional efforts, including strengthening the department of plant growing, mechanization, chemicalization and plant protection. Perhaps, in addition to this, 1 new department and 1 directorate will be created in the Ministry of Agriculture.
By transferring the fertilizer market to the Ministry of Agriculture, the government intends to achieve several important goals at once.
— Increase the availability of fertilizers for agricultural producers.
Currently, the standards for the application of mineral fertilizers are at the level of about 65 kilograms per hectare, according to data for 2023. A year before that, the standard was 60 kilograms, and for 5 years — 45 kilograms.
In the next season, it is planned to increase the standard to 70 kilograms per hectare.
Obviously, such growth directly affects the yield and efficiency of agriculture in the country. Uninterrupted supply of fertilizers to farmers within the application standards can significantly strengthen the country’s food security.
In particular, the department plans to develop the trade of fertilizers within the country, establishing direct interaction between suppliers and farmers.
— Increase exports by opening new markets.
Today, many countries around the world are interested in Russian fertilizers, despite all the difficulties, such as problems with payments.
Fertilizer exports clearly have a great future, but consistent work is needed here. At the same time, uninterrupted supplies of fertilizers to the markets of friendly countries will also strengthen their food security, as well as the world in general, experts emphasize.
At the moment, fertilizer exports, for example, to the countries of the global South increased from 23.5 million tons in 2022 to 29.1 million tons in 2023. At the same time, Russia has already occupied up to 22% of the fertilizer market in this region of the world.
— Increasing fertilizer application rates, as well as exports, requires increasing fertilizer production.
According to the latest data, fertilizer production increased to 59.3 million tons in 2023, which is about 9% compared to the previous year.
