Uralchem Collaborates with Africa for Increasing Business Opportunities

The Russian company is keen on expanding its presence in the region in order to offer fertilisers to the country’s growing agricultural sector. The firm also intends to develop a hub in Zimbabwe for exporting fertilisers to other African countries.

Kenya – Uralchem intends to expand cooperation with Kenya in the field of mineral fertiliser production. Dmitry Mazepin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of JSC Uralchem, recently visited Nairobi where he met President of the Republic of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta.

The main objective of the two-day working trip of Uralchem's management is business development in the African region. President of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta also noted that Africa had great agricultural potential and that he wanted to create opportunities for Russian companies in Kenya and would like to see the Russian market opening for their products.

Dmitry Mazepin, for his part, noted that the Government of Kenya annually subsidises the purchase of fertilisers worth 40-50 billion dollars, while the state’s goal remains the development of agriculture as an independent and efficient business that does not require targeted subsidies. Cheaper fertilisers are what the country needs.

Cooperation with global companies is a pre-requisite for this. The President of Kenya added that Africa is opening its doors to investment and developing, wants to build relations. He also mentioned that he was ready for closer relations with Russia and invited Russian companies to cooperate.

Uralchem and Uralkali will take this opportunity to expand their business in Africa and, in particular, in Kenya. As a result of the discussion, the parties reached a consensus on the first agreement. One of the expected outcomes is the expanded presence of Uralchem and Uralkali in Kenya with the cooperation of the largest agricultural organisations. Moreover, it has also planned to build the port infrastructure along with joint projects in the mining industry. Uralchem also plans to create a hub in Zimbabwe in order to export fertilisers to other African countries.