Фото: пресс-служба Лукашенко
Brazil’s ambassador to Belarus, Bernard Jörg Leopold de Garcia Klingl, who is completing his mission in Minsk, said he was satisfied with its results. He said he had succeeded in restoring potash trade between the two countries.
“Brazil is a major consumer of potash fertilizers and potash products from Belarus. Belarusian potash fertilizers meet up to 30% of our domestic demand. Products from the mines of Salihorsk, which I had the opportunity to visit, are of excellent quality and are highly valued by Brazilian farmers.
When I arrived in Belarus in August 2022, I encountered a difficult situation — a sharp decline in trade in potash fertilizers. Due to the strong impact on Brazilian agriculture and food security in general, restoring this trade became a priority task for me. As I leave Belarus, I note with satisfaction significant improvements in this matter. Logistical and financial difficulties have been resolved, and the prospects for the future are promising,” he said in an interview with BelTA.
The ambassador said sanctions created two types of obstacles: logistical and financial.
“The logistical difficulties were mainly caused by the inability to use the Lithuanian port of Klaipėda for fertilizer shipments. The use of alternative routes, which eventually became available for trade, resulted in additional costs and increased product prices. Financial difficulties created uncertainty and distrust between purchasing and selling companies, as they made payments impossible, leading to contract breaches and losses for both sides,” he said.
According to him, closer business ties were established. Government authorities provided the institutional framework to ensure financial obligations could be fulfilled.
“Transactions using Brazilian reals and Belarusian roubles have become part of our reality, demonstrating both countries’ ability to respond creatively and promptly to challenges arising from sanctions imposed on Belarus,” he said.
In February this year, Klingl met with Aliaksandr Lukashenka. The discussion focused on potash fertilizer supplies. Notably, according to Brazilian foreign trade statistics, fertilizer imports from Belarus were minimal last year. The main sources of potash imports were Russia, Canada and Israel. At the same time, Belarus exported $44 million worth of fertilizers to Brazil in 2024, compared with $349 million in 2023 and $568 million in 2019.