Belarus promises to honour potash supplies after EU sanctions
MOSCOW, June 25 (Reuters) - Belarus Potash Company (BPC) said on Friday it would make every effort to meet its commitments to customers, which include China and India, after it was hit by European Union sanctions.
Thursday's EU ban on imports and transfers of potash from Belarus jeopardises the main export route for the world's top producer of the crop nutrient via Lithuania.
The ban was part of wide-ranging EU economic sanctions against Belarus, a month after Minsk forced a Ryanair flight to land in order to arrest a government critic.
The Baltic port of Klaipeda in Lithuania handles 97% of Belarusian potash exports, which are the main source of U.S. dollar revenue for Minsk's budget.
BPC, whose supplies account for 20% of global potash trade, competes with Canada's Nutrien and Mosaic among others. Nutrien said it would boost 2021 potash output by 500,000 tonnes after the EU's sanctions on Belarus.
Brussels imposed sanctions on two of BPC's three main potash products - potash with a potassium content not exceeding 40% in the dry product, and potash with a potassium content exceeding 62% in the dry product.
The ban also includes mineral fertilisers containing potash.
BPC's main export product is potash with 60% potassium content, according to Russia's Interfax news agency.
"Every type of product is important to us, irrespective of the volumes supplied," the Belarusian potash exporting monopoly said, without providing details.
Belarus' foreign ministry said on Friday it would take steps in response to the sanctions in the coming weeks.
"Belarus is not going to silently watch this," it said in a statement. (Writing by Polina Devitt Editing by Katya Golubkova and Mark Potter)
