Putin had a conference call with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Monday. “Food security” and “energy security” were on the agenda, according to a statement from Bolsonaro. He does not give further details.
In a separate statement after the talks, the Kremlin says Putin “stressed that Russia is obliged to guarantee an uninterrupted supply of Russian fertilizers to Brazilian farmers.”
The statement also said that Putin had called for “the restoration of architecture with free trade in food and fertilizers and which collapsed as a result of Western sanctions” against Russia.
Brazil imports more than 80% of the country’s fertilizer needs. The figure rises to 96% for potassium alone, according to figures from the Ministry of Agriculture in Brasilia. More than 20% of Brazilian fertilizer imports come from Russia. But Western sanctions against Russia, imposed following that country’s invasion of Ukraine in February, have raised fears that Brazil’s access to fertilizer could be affected.
The Bolsonaro government has therefore also announced the start of negotiations with alternative fertilizer suppliers, mainly Canada, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco. Domestic production will also increase, according to the Brazilian government.
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