Due to sanctions and related threats, mineral fertilisers originating from Belarus are disappearing from the European Union market, many countries have introduced fertiliser export quotas, and the prices of chemical fertilisers have already doubled, thus clearing the way for biological and organic fertilisers.

This is the picture outlined by Ģirts Cēlājs, a member of the board of AS Fertilizer Group. He points out that the European Union's strategy to reduce the consumption of chemical fertilisers and plant protection products has created substantial momentum for the development and demand for analogous biological products.

What is the situation with Belarusian shipments following months of tension regarding the presidential election in that country?

The flow of Belarusian cargo to both the port of Liepāja and the port of Klaipėda has declined significantly, and certain product ranges are simply no longer available. International sanctions have affected the two most important Belarusian export products – mineral fertilisers and oil products. Naturally, the situation is currently most difficult at the port of Klaipėda, where the three largest terminals operated specifically on the transshipment of Belarusian cargo. It will be difficult to attract new large-scale cargo volumes in a short period of time, and it cannot be ruled out that a redistribution of the already diminished volumes handled at Latvian ports will take place. At the same time, there is a group of nitrogen fertilisers whose sale in the European Union is not prohibited. And although fertiliser prices on the global market have more than doubled, buyers in EU countries are afraid to purchase Belarusian nitrogen fertilisers because no one can guarantee that they will not suddenly find themselves in a difficult situation, as the goods or their manufacturer could be added to a sanctions list at the moment of purchase.