Brasília – Mikhail Sterkin, PhosAgro’s Deputy CEO for Sales and Marketing, participated in the Russia–Brazil Business Forum, which took place in Brasília on 5 February 2026 as part of the eighth meeting of the Russia–Brazil High-Level Commission.
The Forum was organized by the Russian and Brazilian Business Councils, Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, ApexBrasil. The event was opened by Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin and Vice President of Brazil Geraldo Alckmin.
As part of the Forum’s business programme, a panel session called “Russia–Brazil Partnership in Ensuring Food Security” was held, chaired by Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation Oksana Lut and Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil Carlos Fávaro.
“Russia and Brazil are important players in the global food market and in many ways complement one another. Prospects for further cooperation are linked not only to expanding trade but, above all, to the implementation of joint scientific and technological projects. Priority areas include plant breeding; genetic research in livestock farming, including the development of embryo transfer; as well as the preservation and enhancement of soil fertility and the creation and application of state-of-the-art fertilizers, including biological ones. Russia is committed to expanding cooperation with Brazil in these areas. Agreements have been reached on developing partnerships and implementing joint initiatives, including with the participation of the Russian Academy of Sciences and other Russian and Brazilian scientific organisations,” Minister Lut emphasized in her remarks.
As Mr Sterkin highlighted during the panel session, Brazil has traditionally been one of PhosAgro’s key export markets: “Last year, we supplied we supplied Brazilian farmers with 1.7 million tonnes of fertilizers. That is 150% more than 10 years ago. Over the same period, our share of Brazil’s total imports of phosphate-based fertilizers nearly doubled to 16%. Today PhosAgro is the world’s largest supplier of compound and complex fertilizers to Brazil. PhosAgro offers a wide range of products: we produce 58 grades, including 16 with micronutrients. This allows us to take into account the specifics of Brazil’s regions and to offer farmers the most efficient solutions.”
In addition, the Company is also implementing a number of important humanitarian initiatives in Brazil.
“We launched the international Pro Agro Lectorium platform in English and Portuguese. The platform has become an international educational hub for state-of-the-art agricultural technologies, was named an official educational platform of the Agribusiness Working Group of the BRICS Business Council and won a BRICS Solutions Award. Nearly 170 leading academics and practitioners from around the world, including speakers from Brazil, have recorded more than 420 lectures on agricultural science and agrochemistry, crop and livestock production, innovation and digitalization in agriculture, economics and responsible farming. Today, hundreds of farmers and students from Brazil use the platform to gain knowledge and obtain information,” said Mr Sterkin.
In recent years, PhosAgro has also launched 60 soil laboratories in Brazil tasked with assessing fertilizer quality and safety and monitoring soil health. The initiative is implemented jointly with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
More than 50 young researchers from Brazil have received scholarships as part of the Summer Schools in Green Chemistry, which is organized by PhosAgro in collaboration with the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). Further grant support is provided to scientists through Green Chemistry for Life, a joint project of PhosAgro, UNESCO and IUPAC.
“We will continue and expand this important work, strengthening the agribusiness partnership between Russia and Brazil,” concluded Mr Sterkin.