At Plenary Session of Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi, PhosAgro CEO Andrey Guryev Announces Plans to Open Sales Office in South Africa

SOCHI, Russia, Oct. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Andrey Guryev, the CEO of PhosAgro and President of the Russian Fertilizer Producers Association (RFPA), announced at a plenary session of the Russia–Africa Summit in Sochi that the Company plans to open a sales office in South Africa.  

The highlight of the forum was the plenary session, where Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi addressed the leaders of more than 40 African countries, business representatives and the public.

Mr el-Sisi, who is also the Chairman of the African Union, noted that African countries very much appreciate the attention that the Russian Federation has been paying to strengthening cooperation with the countries of the continent, adding that they consider the Economic Forum in Sochi to be an important platform for the development of investment and trade. 

"I would like to invite all private companies in Russia and other countries, as well as international financial organisations, to cooperate with, and invest in, Africa. Now is an opportune time to do so," said Mr el-Sisi.

In his speech, Russian President Putin emphasised that African countries were attracting more and more attention from Russian business: "Africa is becoming one of the focal points of global economic growth. According to experts, the GDP of African countries will reach USD 29 trillion by 2050. Over five years, trade between Russia and Africa has more than doubled and exceeds USD 20 billion."

Mr Putin stressed that the vast potential of relations between Russia and African countries was much greater. "Many Russian companies have been working successfully with partners from a wide variety of sectors of the African economy for a long time and are determined to expand their presence in Africa. We, of course, will support such plans at the state level. ... I believe that, in the next four to five years, we can once again double our trade volume – at a minimum," said Mr Putin.

The panel moderator, Russian Minister for Economic Development Maxim Oreshkin, noted that the lengthy hiatus in economic relations between Russia and Africa was a thing of the past.

Mr Oreshkin stressed that, over the past 10–15 years, Russia has accumulated a great number of competencies in various fields: from digital technologies and the promotion of human capital to the development of new mineral deposits and agriculture. At the same time, he said, Africa is now undergoing a great infrastructural, digital and human transformation aimed at improving the quality of life of the people who inhabit the continent.

"These two trends are now starting to converge. Russia's competencies can help meet the challenges facing every African country. Russia is ready, together with its African partners, to carry out projects that will improve the quality of life in Africa."

Russia's Minister for Natural Resources and the Environment, Dmitry Kobylkin, said that Russia and African countries had a historical partnership in the area of mineral resources, noting that Russia and Africa were similar in terms of their mineral wealth.

"We have a good base, including in science. We have collaborated in the past. I recently visited several African countries, and I can proudly say that their reserves are based on the geological explorations of Soviet specialists. Therefore, we are, without doubt, partners. Many deposits are being discovered by our specialists now as well. We are especially proud of this," said Mr Kobylkin.

PhosAgro CEO and President of the RFPA Andrey Guryev, during his speech at the plenary session, noted that Russian fertilizer producers were making an important contribution to Africa's sustainable development, including in the fight against hunger and soil degradation. 

"Today, Russian producers supply more than 1 million tonnes of their products to the countries of Africa, which is approximately 10% of the total fertilizer consumption on the African continent. At the same time, our companies are constantly expanding their presence," said Mr Guryev.

The President of the RFPA stressed that the highly effective fertilizers made by Russian producers, unlike the products of a number of foreign manufacturers, do not contain toxic substances such as cadmium, which means they do not harm the soil and ensure that the agricultural products made with them are environmentally friendly. 

"The use of Russian fertilizers, the cleanest in the world, gives farmers a clear competitive advantage. A vivid example of this is the creation of the 'Green Standard' of agricultural products in Russia at the initiative of President Vladimir Putin. Agricultural products grown using environmentally friendly fertilizers and straightforward production procedures will be marked with a special logo. In five years, the share of such products among Russian agricultural exports could reach 10–15%," said Mr Guryev.

According to PhosAgro's CEO, his Company, in cooperation with the FAO, has initiated work on recognition of the Green Standard as the global benchmark for quality. Mr Guryev invited his African colleagues to join the 'Green Club' by abandoning the use of fertilizers with toxic substances, and he stressed that Russia, in turn, was ready to increase exports of environmentally friendly products to Africa.

"PhosAgro, which accounts for one-third of the Russian fertilizers supplied to Africa, already increased its supply by 37% in the first nine months of the year. We intend to increase our shipments by two- or threefold in the next five years. For this reason, we are going to open, in the near future, a representative office in South Africa, in the city of Cape Town", said Mr Guryev.

PhosAgro's CEO, who earlier Wednesday, together with other leading business representatives, took part in bilateral negotiations between Russian President Putin and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, noted that the choice of South Africa for the Company's first sales office in Africa was no accident, as more than 40% of PhosAgro's supplies to the continent are sent to South Africa.

The organizer of the Russia–Africa Economic Forum is the Roscongress Foundation. The forum is taking place at the Sirius Science and Art Park.

About PhosAgro

PhosAgro (www.phosagro.ru) is one of the world's leading vertically integrated phosphate-based fertilizer producers in terms of production volumes of phosphate-based fertilizers and high-grade phosphate rock with a P₂O₅ content of 39% and higher. PhosAgro's environmentally friendly fertilizers stand out for their high efficiency, and they do no lead to the contamination of soils with heavy metals.

The Company is the largest phosphate-based fertilizer producer in Europe (by total combined capacity for DAP/MAP/NP/NPK/NPS), the largest producer of high-grade phosphate rock with a P₂O₅ content of 39%, a top-three producer of MAP/DAP globally, one of the leading producers of feed phosphates (MCP) in Europe, and the only producer in Russia, and Russia's only producer of nepheline concentrate (according to the RAFP).

PhosAgro's main products include phosphate rock, 39 grades of fertilizers, feed phosphates, ammonia, and sodium tripolyphosphate, which are used by customers in 100 countries spanning all of the world's inhabited continents. The Company's priority markets outside of Russia and the CIS are Latin America, Europe and Asia.

PhosAgro's shares are traded on the Moscow Exchange, and global depositary receipts (GDRs) for shares trade on the London Stock Exchange (under the ticker PHOR). Since 1 June 2016, the Company's GDRs have been included in the MSCI Russia and MSCI Emerging Markets indexes.

More information about PhosAgro can be found on the website: www.phosagro.ru.