Uralchem Group of Russia has sent cost free 30,000 tons of Muriate of Potash (MoP) fertilizer to Bangladesh as part of friendship and deep sincerity between the two countries. The delivery, previously stored in Latvia, was facilitated by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), which chartered a vessel to transport the fertilizer.

As with previous similar shipments, Uralchem Group covered the sea freight and other associated costs.

On 6 November, the Group confirmed the shipment on their website. A similar confirmation was also provided by General Manager of Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) Mr. Ahmed Hasan Al Mahmud. “Agriculture ministry will declare officially”, he added.

Mr. Dmitry Konyaev, CEO of Uralchem JSC — the core entity of Uralchem Group — said in a message that through this humanitarian consignment the Group aims to contribute to the sustainable development of the agricultural sector of Bangladesh and to the wellbeing of its people.

Uralchem Group’s initiative also supports efforts to achieve UN Sustainable Development Goal #2 — “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.”

Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Bangladesh Mr. Alexander Khozin and President of the Russian Friendship Society with Bangladesh Mr. Mia Sattar met with Home and Agriculture Advisor Lieutenant General (retd.) Mr. Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury in Dhaka and discussed the delivery process of this free cost fertilizer.

The advisor thanked Russia for the initiative and asked to start the process quickly.

Previous Russian Ambassador Mr. Alexander Mantytskiy had first mentioned the fertilizer shipment to Bangladesh during a courtesy call with the agricultural advisor on 29 August 2024. Mr. Sattar thanked Uralchem and Russian government for such a big support for Bangladesh.

He said, “I think it’s a big humanity shipment for Bangladesh, and we are working with Uralchem Group for a smooth handover to the Bangladesh Government through proper channels’’.

Since late 2022, Uralchem Group has contributed approximately 220,000 tons of mineral fertilizers free of charge to developing nations. Nearly 200,000 tons of this amount were shipped on vessels chartered by WFP from EU ports and warehouses — to Malawi, Kenya, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, and now to Bangladesh.

In 2013, Uralkali PJSC, a Russia-based producer and exporter of potash fertilizer, which is also a part of Uralchem Group, supplied one million tons of MoP to Bangladesh under a government-to-government contract.

Uralchem Group is a leading global producer of mineral fertilizers and chemical products. Its key assets include three major Russian companies — Uralchem JSC, Uralkali PJSC, and TOAZ JSC.