RFPA welcomes the forthcoming entry into force of the law ‘On Agricultural Products, Raw Materials and Food with Enhanced Characteristics’.

Russian mineral fertilizer producers welcome the forthcoming entry into force of the law ‘On Agricultural Products, Raw Materials and Food with Enhanced Characteristics’. The Federal law, signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, will come into force on 1^st March 2022.

“For over two years, the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, Roskachestvo, and the business community, with the active participation of members of the Russian Fertilizers Producers Association (RFPA), have carried out significant work to prepare a law on agricultural products, raw materials and food with enhanced characteristics.

An essential element in their production is the use of enhanced mineral fertilizers free from concentrations of heavy metals, most of all cadmium, which are harmful to human health and to the soil. Russian state standards for enhanced mineral fertilizers, adopted in support of the practical implementation of the Green Standard, set limits on cadmium content in fertilizers that are three times stricter than the EU criteria of 20 mg per kg of P₂O₅. These standards came into force in March 2020.

The forthcoming entry into force of the law after its signing by the President, on whose initiative the Green Standard was developed, will make it possible to verify in a highly competitive environment the environmental friendliness and quality of enhanced food, agricultural and industrial products for supply to both Russian and foreign markets. The Green Standard will make it possible to monetize the potential of Russian agribusiness in the shortest possible time while giving impetus to its further development. According to expert estimates, the law will create at least RUB 40 billion in additional taxes and 200,000 jobs.

An important social element is the almost total absence of additional costs in the production of enhanced food and the creation of an accessible segment of green products for the mass Russian consumer. The RFPA is actively involved in expanding the green segment, ensuring the stable supply of mineral fertilizers with enhanced characteristics to the Russian market," said RFPA President and PhosAgro’s CEO Andrey Guryev.