Moscow – PhosAgro (Moscow Exchange, LSE: PHOR), one of the world’s leading vertically integrated phosphate-based fertilizer producers, announces the opening of a new trading company called PhosAgro Balkans (PhosAgro Balkans D.o.o.).
PhosAgro Balkans will operate out of Belgrade, Serbia, and will focus on the sale of PhosAgro products in Southeast Europe, namely, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Croatia, Slovakia, Macedonia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Cyprus, countries to which PhosAgro mineral fertilizers had previously been sold via intermediaries.
PhosAgro CEO Andrey Guryev said: “PhosAgro’s seventh trading office is being established as part of our export strategy, which aims to move to direct international sales. We have already set up trading offices in Brazil, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, France and Singapore to facilitate the Company’s presence in all of its priority export markets, allowing us to quickly react to demand trends and customer needs. Curently, 80% of our fertilizers are sold directly to customers, without using intermediaries, and with the help of our new trading office we plan to double sales to Southeast Europe by 2020, to over 250 kilotonnes.”
PhosAgro Deputy CEO for Sales and Marketing Sergey Pronin said: “PhosAgro Balkans will focus on meeting this region’s demand for fertilizers that are free from potentially harmful contaminants. By the end of this year we plan to increase total fertilizer shipments by 35 kilotonnes. In addition to traditional DAP/MAP, we will be shipping complex NPK and NPS fertilizers, which are widely used here, and eventually granulated urea, which will soon be produced at PhosAgro Cherepovets.”
Konstantin Filimonov has been appointed to head the PhosAgro Balkans business. Mr Filimonov has held top positions in the sphere of agrochemical sales since 1997.