OREANDA-NEWS. October 28, 2015. The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) delegation headed by Vice President Viktor Cherepov met with the representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture of Brazil to discuss the prospects for increasing trade turnover between Russia and Brazil. The Russian delegation included PhosAgro CEO and a member of the management board of the RSPP, Deputy Chairman of the Russia-Brazil Business Council Andrey Guryev.

According to Viktor Cherepov, “The discussion of the meeting focused on the potential for increasing trade turnover between Russia and Brazil, as well as the necessity to increase effectiveness of business cooperation between our countries, particularly in the agricultural sector.”

Secretary for International Relations in Agribusiness of the Ministry of Agriculture of Brazil Tatiana Palermo emphasized that: “Brazil sees Russia not just as a major trade partner in the agriculture and mineral fertiliser industries, but also as a potential investor in infrastructure. We also expect Russian banks and businesses to participate in financing Brazilian agriculture producers.”

The meeting was initiated by Andrey Guryev, CEO of PhosAgro, which is one of the largest contributors to trade turnover between Russia and Brazil. Fertilisers account about 60% of Brazilian imports from Russia.

“Cooperation between Russia and Brazil holds enormous potential. Joint projects could bring invaluable benefits to the economies of both countries, complementing each other effectively: Brazil supplies the agricultural goods that Russia needs, while we in turn ship environmentally friendly fertilisers to cultivate them to Brazil,” said Andrey Guryev.

Alongside the Russian and other CIS countries` markets, the Brazilian market is a priority area for Russian fertiliser producers. Despite a drop in consumption in Brazil this year caused by the significant depreciation of the real, Russian fertiliser producers intend to increase their presence at the Brazilian market. 

Brazil is one of the leading importers of Russian fertilisers, imported 6 million tons of Russian production last year. In 2014 Russia became one of the largest suppliers of MAP fertilisers, overtaking even Morocco, one of the world’s leading MAP/DAP exporters. Over the past five years PhosAgro has increased deliveries to Brazil in two and a half times, reaching 1.2 million tons last year.