A tanker with a cargo of liquid fertilizer from Russia is about to arrive in the United States, sources and ship tracking data have shown in recent days, at a time of widespread concern about possible food shortages due to high global fertilizer prices. .
the president's government Joe Biden did not blacklist agricultural commodities and fertilizer cargo from Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.
Still, several Western banks and merchants avoided Russian supplies for fear of running afoul of rapidly changing rules.
Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of fertilizers, which are essential for keeping maize yields high, soya, rice and wheat.
Farmers have reduced fertilizer use due to high prices and reduced the amount of land they plan to cultivate.
Washington has sanctioned Russian oil, refined products, coal and liquefied natural gas and imposed an April 22 deadline for ending imports.
The Liberian-flagged tanker Johnny Ranger was scheduled to arrive in New Orleans on Monday carrying about 39,000 tons of urea ammonium nitrate solution, a load of fertilizer produced by combining urea, nitric acid and ammonia, showed sources and Refinitiv Eikon data.
The vessel was loaded last month in St Petersburg, according to Eikon data.
Details about the seller and buyer were not immediately available. The US Treasury Department and the US Customs and Border Protection agency declined to comment.
A State Department spokesperson said the United States has never sanctioned Russian food or agricultural products.
"Unlike the Russian government, we have no interest in using food as a weapon to create humanitarian crises at the expense of vulnerable populations." quotes the US State Department.
The US non-food sanctions will remain in place until Russian President Vladimir Putin stops the war in Ukraine, the spokesman added.
In 2021, the United States imported $262.6 million worth of urea ammonium nitrate fertilizers from Russia, according to the Commerce Department.
This week, the US International Trade Commission lifted heavy anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs on Russia's urea ammonium nitrate fertilizers in an effort to alleviate fertilizer shortages and price increases.
Sources: investing.com
