Fertilizer sanctions expected to continue into 2023 crop year

(Kara Oosterhuis/RealAgriculture)

With 2022 harvest knocking at the door, producers are starting to look ahead to the 2023 growing season, and it appears the Canadian government will continue to impose its 35 per cent sanctions on fertilizer from Russia and Belarus.

Canada is the only country that has implemented and maintained sanctions against fertilizer from these countries, and this isn’t expected to change moving forward.

Karen Proud, president and CEO of Fertilizer Canada, says if that’s the government’s decision, which it seems to be, the focus needs to immediately shift to reducing Canada’s reliance on fertilizer imports from Russia.

“I think what we really need to do now is talk to the government on the domestic supply of fertilizer and how Canada is, and can continue to be, a global leader in fertilizer production in this country, not only for this country, but for the rest of the world,” says Proud. “Canada can be that dependable supply, but we need to work closely with this government on making sure we’ve got the right environment from a regulatory perspective, and from an infrastructure perspective, so we can get that fertilizer across Canada in a efficient, effective and cost effective way, but also be able to supply the rest of the world.”

Up to 680 thousand tonnes of nitrogen fertilizer are imported from Russia to Eastern Canada annually, representing 85-90 per cent of the total nitrogen fertilizer used in the region in some years, according to Fertilizer Canada.

 

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