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News
© Burt Sytsma Photography
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Fertilizer manufacturer EuroChem in Antwerp has received permission from administrators to partially resume production. The company was co-owned by Russian oligarch Andrei Melnichenko, who is subject to sanctions imposed by the European Union (EU). Melnichenko has meanwhile completely withdrawn from the company.
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The bank assets of the global chemical group have been frozen and the Antwerp branch has instituted temporary protection against creditors. The partial resumption of fertilizer production will last until a final solution is reached, and should only be used to pay the salaries of the approximately four hundred employees.
Billion miles
EuroChem produces approximately 2 million tons of fertilizer per year in Antwerp. EuroChem is one of the five largest fertilizer producers in the world with a turnover of 5.48 billion euros. It has offices in Russia, Kazakhstan, Estonia, Lithuania, Germany, Belgium, Brazil, China and the United States. It operates with more than 27,000 employees in 100 countries.
The company announced last month that Melnichenko had stepped down as director and largest shareholder on March 9. President Vladimir Rashevskiy has also withdrawn.
Export ban
Russia’s Ministry of Trade and Industry last month recommended that the country’s fertilizer producers stop exports in response to EU sanctions. In practice, such a ‘recommendation’ means an export ban, ordered by the Kremlin. There are other countries that produce and export fertilizers, but they are considerably more expensive.
Belarus, a major supplier of potassium to the European Union, South America and the United States, has also shut down fertilizer exports because it no longer has access to the (Baltic Sea) port of Klaipeda in northern neighboring Lithuania.
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