Imports of Russian fertilizers by Poland jumped 3.3 times in July 2023 compared to last year, a RIA Novosti analysis of official data has shown.
According to the outlet, Polish companies purchased $20.2 million worth of fertilizer compared to just $6.2 million last July. As a result, Russia ranked second among Poland’s largest suppliers, while in July 2022, it was only sixth.
Data showed that Germany was the leading supplier of fertilizers to Poland in July, delivering $22.6 million worth of the commodity, while Lithuania came in third with $13.5 million. Finland and the Netherlands were in the top five, exporting $8.3 million and $8.1 million worth of fertilizers, respectively.
Warsaw began sharply reducing purchases of Russian fertilizers in April 2022 as part of a drive to cut economic ties with Moscow. As a result, imports from Russia decreased by 21 times in just one month. However, by June, these shipments started growing again, and by the end of last year, Poland had purchased $225.1 million worth of Russian fertilizers, compared to $360 million in 2021.
Meanwhile, statistics show that over seven months of this year, from January until July, Poland imported $97.6 million worth of fertilizers from Russia, 25% less than during the same period in 2022.
Russia is the world’s largest fertilizer producer, covering roughly 15% of global consumption. Western sanctions have not directly targeted Russian fertilizer exports, however, restrictions have still affected deliveries, which plunged 15% year-on-year in 2022.