Russian farmers in 2021 may purchase 4.5 million tons of fertilizers

“Russia is the only country in the world that fully provides itself with all the main types of mineral fertilizers and export them to farmers in more than 100 countries,” said Maxim Kuznetsov, Executive Director of the Russian Fertilizer Producers Association (RFPA), at the meeting held by the First Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Russia, Dzhambulat Khatuov.

In January-August 2020, the production of mineral fertilizers in Russia increased by another 3.2%. According to the current forecast of the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia, domestic farmers will purchase 4 million tons of mineral fertilizers this year. As of today, more than 85% of the forecasted volume has already been acquired.

By the end of 2020, the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia expects the gross grain harvest to be at the level of at least 125 million tons. The goal for the next year is set to receive more than 127 million tons of grain crops, said Roman Nekrasov, Director of the Department of Plant-Growing, Mechanization, Chemicalization and Plant Protection of the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia.

The use of high-quality seeds and hybrids of crops, technical and technological modernization of agricultural enterprises, and an increase in the use of mineral fertilizers will help to achieve this goal.

“I believe 4.5 million tons is the minimum level we should approach in 2021. We are to use 8 million tons of fertilizers in 2024,” said Roman Nekrasov and noted that special attention should be paid to the carbamide-ammoniac compound, liquid complex fertilizers, ammonia, and complex fertilizers.

Roman Nekrasov considers that a significant increase in the yield of products can be also achieved by the improving of nutrients assimilability as a result of phosphorization and gypsum of soils. “These methods give a significant increase in the yield due to the use of those nutrients that can be found in the soil,” he said.