EuroChem’s AB Lifosa concludes interim agreement on resumption of limited fertilizer production
Published by Emily Thomas,
Deputy Editor
World Fertilizer,
AB Lifosa, one of the largest phosphate fertilizer manufacturers in Europe and part of Swiss-based EuroChem Group, has come to an interim agreement with the government-appointed administrator to resume limited production following a protracted shutdown.
Lifosa, based in the Lithuanian city of Kedainiai, has been under the control of a temporary administrator since the end of May 2022. Production had to be halted in September with critical raw materials unavailable and no progress on securing new shipments. Recent cooperative work with the administrator resulted in the lifting of some supply restrictions, allowing for a reduced-capacity restart in December providing sourcing can be secured immediately.
“With the need to continue fertilizer supplies to key target markets in Europe and the Americas and the importance of Lifosa to Lithuania, we are pleased that we will be able to restart production in the short term,” said Samir Brikho, Executive Chairman of EuroChem Group.
“To ensure sustainable economic operations beyond December, additional steps will need to be taken with regards to Lifosa obtaining access to competitively priced raw materials and the permission to market its products to a broader customer base,” he added.
The restart represents a considerable economic concession by EuroChem Group, but the decision was taken to meet important social responsibility commitments, supporting its workforce as well as the wider Kedainiai community, for whom it also supplies heating via the facility; while helping to underpin global food security.
Nevertheless, in order to protect creditors and ensure the economic viability of the plant, Lifosa’s quick reintegration into the EuroChem sales and procurement network will be required to persist in a very challenging market environment. When it is fully embedded within EuroChem Group, Lifosa is Europe’s leading phosphate fertilizer facility in terms of output and quality. Due to the low-impurity phosphate raw materials provided by EuroChem to Lifosa, the plant is able to meet already today the strictest cadmium limits proposed by the EU commission.
In this status, as part of a sophisticated supply chain that requires skilled oversight of its supply and sales operations in order to ensure medium- and long-term financial viability, Lifosa provides jobs for more than 1000 people in Lithuania.
Read the article online at: https://www.worldfertilizer.com/project-news/08112022/eurochems-ab-lifosa-concludes-interim-agreement-on-resumption-of-limited-fertilizer-production/
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