First Shipment of Russian Fertilizers Departs From Netherlands for Malawi

The first shipment of Russian fertilizers blocked in Europe has departed from the Netherlands en route to Malawi, a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement on Tuesday.

"The first shipment of 20,000 MT of fertilizer left the Netherlands on a WFP-chartered vessel, MV Greenwich, starting today, destined for Malawi via Mozambique."

"It will be the first of a series of shipments of fertilizer destined for a number of other countries on the African continent in the coming months," the statement said.

In July, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey signed an UN-brokered deal to secure a humanitarian corridor via the Black Sea to allow exports of food and fertilizers.

However, Moscow has repeatedly said the deal is not effective in bringing grain and fertilizer to developing countries, as European nations take a big share of the deliveries.

At the same time, Russia noted that sanctions continue hindering its grain and fertilizer exports even though the deal is supposed to guarantee their free flow to global markets.