Has trading in mineral fertilizers failed to gain traction in Russia?

Yesterday, two years had passed since the launch of operations with mineral fertilizers at the Saint Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange (SPIMEX), however, it seems that this type of trade in agrochemicals is not yet widespread.

According to the analysis of the trading results in the Minerals and Chemicals section, the total volume of transactions with chemicals between January and November 2019 is less than 10 thousand tons. Considering the fact that in this section, mineral fertilizers as well as sodium carbonate and shale fuses are sold, even fewer agrochemicals might have been realized.

“By and large, there is no particular need to buy mineral fertilizers at the commodity exchange since these can be as easily purchased from producers or traders. I don’t think that in the coming years, the exchange trade in mineral fertilizers will be in demand among farmers,” said one of the market experts.