Zug, Switzerland, July 26, 2022 — EuroChem Group (hereafter ‘EuroChem’), a leading global fertilizer producer, notes the European Commission’s promises to shield the food supply chain from the effects of the sanctions, but calls for action to ensure the required protection materializes.

While the EU, the United Nations and the United States have all announced that food security must be guaranteed in the face of an impending food crisis, the reality is that many fertilizer companies, including EuroChem, continue to experience daily operational difficulties imposed by over-compliant counterparties who fear violating sanctions.

“We call upon the European Commission to pro-actively inform EU Member States that all actors in the food and fertilizer sector, EuroChem Group AG included, are free from EU sanctions; and that national authorities, banks, suppliers, and all other counterparties are at liberty to conduct business with any people and entities within the sector without fear of breaking the law, just as they did prior to the announcement of sanctions,” said Samir Brikho, EuroChem’s Executive Chairman.

Following proposals announced on July 19[1] to suspend import tariffs on nitrogen fertilizer inputs, the European Commission vowed in a July 21[2] announcement that “EU sanctions do not target in any way the trade in agricultural products between third countries and Russia.”

Samir Brikho added: “We note the announcements by the European Commission in recent days, but we are yet to experience any degree of protection and see a disconnect between EU goals and reality.”

Despite EuroChem’s confirmed exclusion from sanctions lists, significant barriers to business remain in certain regions, most notably the European Union, where fertilizer production is curtailed and local authorities are doing little to ease artificial, self-imposed restrictions, contradicting stated food security goals.

This may emanate from mentions of the word ‘EuroChem’ in official EU sanctions designations, whereas the company itself has had no bloc-wide sanctions applied, as already attested to by multiple governments.

About EuroChem

EuroChem is a leading global fertilizer producer, and one of only three companies worldwide with manufacturing capacity in all three primary nutrient groups: nitrogen, phosphates and potash. A vertically integrated company, EuroChem is expanding its mining, production and distribution capacities in key regions around the world. The company’s growth is primarily driven by the ramp-up of two large-scale potash projects and new state-of-the-art ammonia and urea facilities, and underpinned by an operational efficiency drive across the full value chain. The Group employs more than 27,000 people in 40 countries, and with a product reach of more than 100 countries. EuroChem is controlled by a trustee and no person subject to sanctions has ownership or control over the Group.

[1] https://policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/news/commission-proposes-temporarily-scrap-tariffs-goods-used-produce-fertiliser-2022-07-19_en

[2] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_4548