Fertilizer cargo from Russia heads to U.S. as many worry about food shortages

Signage is observed outside the house of the U.S. Intercontinental Trade Fee in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 31, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

HOUSTON/WASHINGTON, July 22 (Reuters) – A tanker carrying a liquid fertilizer products from Russia is about to get there in the United States, resources and vessel tracking information showed in the latest days, at a time of popular get worried that sky-higher international fertilizer prices could guide to foodstuff shortages.

President Joe Biden’s administration has not blacklisted Russian agricultural commodities, like fertilizers, in the aftermath of the Ukraine invasion. Even now, several Western banks and traders have steered obvious of Russian supplies for concern of functioning afoul of rapidly switching rules.

Russia and Ukraine are significant exporters of fertilizer, critical to holding corn, soy, rice and wheat yields substantial. Farmers have scaled back again fertilizer use thanks to large costs, and minimize the quantity of land they strategy to cultivate.

Washington sanctioned Russian crude, refined merchandise, coal and liquefied pure gas, and imposed an April 22 deadline to wind down imports.

The Liberia-flagged tanker Johnny Ranger was scheduled to get there in New Orleans on Monday carrying about 39,000 tonnes of urea ammonium nitrate option, a fertilizer manufactured by combining urea, nitric acid and ammonia, the sources and Refinitiv Eikon knowledge showed.

The vessel loaded past month at St. Petersburg, according to Eikon info.

Details on the seller and buyer had been not straight away accessible. The U.S. Treasury Office and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection company declined to comment.

A Point out Office spokesperson said the United States has under no circumstances sanctioned food items or agricultural merchandise from Russia. “In contrast to the Russian governing administration, we have no desire in weaponizing foodstuff to generate humanitarian crises at the expenditure of susceptible populations.”

U.S. non-food sanctions will keep on being in location until Russian President Vladimir Putin stops the war in Ukraine, the human being additional.

In 2021, the United States imported $262.6 million value of urea ammonium nitrate fertilizers from Russia, in accordance to the Commerce Office.

This week, the U.S. Worldwide Trade Commission revoked significant anti-dumping and anti-subsidy responsibilities on urea ammonium nitrate fertilizers from Russia in an work to simplicity fertilizer shortages and cost increases.

Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar and Marianna Parraga in Houston, Timothy Gardner in Washington Enhancing by David Gregorio

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