Homiel Chemical Plant loses 95% of exports over war in Ukraine

The Homiel Chemical Plant lost 95% of its exports after Russia attacked Ukraine, Belneftekhim Gazette has learned from the plant director Dzmitry Charnyakou. Reform.by quotes excerpts from the article.

"It's no secret that at the beginning of March, we suddenly lost 95% of exports, which accounted for 70% of all revenues, and we were left with an unprofitable domestic market," says Charnyakou. For the last five years, the company did not raise the prices of fertilizers inside the country. The revenues from exports offset the losses in the domestic market. As a result, the company had to stop controlling prices for Belarusian consumers and look for new markets. The Homiel Chemical Plant used to sell 360-430 thousand tons abroad annually.

"We were helped by the fact that back in 2020, to diversify exports, we started registering certain brands of fertilizers in Russia," Charnyakou said. According to him, they did it "just in case." Because, at that time, the Russian market was not particularly interesting.

"But at just the right moment, our initiative worked. By mid-April, The Homiel Chemical Plant already had the necessary registration documents," said the director. There already was a partner who became a distributor. As a result, we sold 200 thousand tons of complex mineral fertilizers in the Russian Federation in six months.

Charnyakou added that the Homiel Chemical Plant retains its presence in Europe. It had, however, to remove the potassium component from NPK fertilizers, which were under sanctions. There are still difficulties with payments.

Still, thanks to high prices for fertilizers, the company managed to exceed the revenue of 2021 in 2022. This year, the plant is going to increase production by 5.3% and exports by 5%.