MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th November, 2022) Namibia is faced with a hike in fertilizer prices that are driving up food costs in Africa and would welcome a donation of fertilizers from Russia, its ambassador told Sputnik in an interview.
"Namibia is faced with a challenge of high cost of crop production inputs, including fertilizer. If extended to Namibia, the Russian offer to transport fertilizer for free would go a long way in mitigating this challenge," Clemens Handuukeme Kashuupulwa said.
Food and fertilizer costs spiked when the United States and Europe blocked access of Russian grain and fertilizer exporters to ports, insurance and finance, stopping short of sanctioning Russian exports altogether. In particular, in 2022, Namibia imported only 4% of fertilizers from Russia, while the main part was delivered from South Africa, according to Kashuupulwa.
The Namibian envoy said that restrictions on Russian fertilizer exports to Africa had increased the cost of fertilizers in Namibia by more than 50%, "ultimately increasing the cost of production and subsequently high cost of food."
The southern African country can boast vast swathes of fertile farming lands and could cooperate with Russia on grain production, he suggested. A gift of fertilizers would further bolster its national food security and food self-sufficiency, the diplomat said.
At the same time, Kashuupulwa expects a significant decrease in Russian wheat supplies to Namibia due to Western sanctions on the export of Russian products.
"During the 2021-2022 financial year in Namibia, the country has imported about 34% of its wheat from Russia. However, this figure is expected to drop below 10% during the current (2022-2023) financial year due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and most importers may opt to look for alternative markets in Europe and South Africa," the Namibian ambassador told Sputnik.
In this regard, the envoy welcomed the extension of the grain deal as "good news" for Namibia.
On July 22, a deal brokered by Turkey and the United Nations was signed by Ukraine and Russia to unblock shipments of grain, food and fertilizer in the Black Sea despite hostilities. The agreement was�supposed to expire on November 19, but it was also subject to automatic extension for 120 days in the absence of objections from the parties. On November 17, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Moscow had authorized a technical extension of the initiative without any changes in terms and scope.
