Russia bridge collapse to hamper phosphate rock exports

The collapse of a railway bridge used to transport bulk commodities to the Russian port of Murmansk is expected to hamper exports of phosphate rock for at least the next month.

State-owned Russian Railways has imposed a complete ban on the transport of all goods to Murmansk junction, in the northwest of the country, following the incident on the Vyhodnoy–Kola section of line yesterday afternoon.

Russian phosphate rock producers Phosagro, Eurochem and Acron railed an average of 160,000 t/month to Murmansk for export in January-April, Argus data show (see chart). The Murmansk region accounted for 2.06mn t, or over 80pc, of all Russian phosphate rock exports in 2019, annual trade data show. June rock exports from Murmansk averaged 155,000 t/month in 2017-19.

Rail traffic on the route has been halted since 30 May, when erosion at the bridge was detected because of strong river flows and flooding, according to government officials.

Repair work is under way, with the government expecting this to take 2-3 weeks. But Eurochem forecasts a longer delay of up to 30 days. There could even be delays of 6-8 weeks, a source at a Russian mining firm said.

Phosagro to mull altering rock exports, fertilizer production unaffected

Russian phosphate producers are now examining possible alternative export routes to ensure supply.

Phosagro is the largest supplier of rock to Murmansk, railing an average of over 98,000 t/month from its Kirovsk site to the port in January-May, Argus data show.

The firm is considering rescheduling its phosphate rock exports, should the bridge repairs take longer than 10 days, it said. But its Russian fertilizer production and deliveries will not be impacted, the supplier added.

The major destination for phosphate rock exports from Murmansk is Lithuania, where Eurochem operates its Lifosa phosphates facility, using the rock as a feedstock for DAP production. Lifosa typically produces 50,000-55,000 t/month of DAP, after water-soluble MAP and feed phosphates.

Eurochem mines phosphate rock at its Kovdor site in the Murmansk region for Lifosa, topping up volumes with rock from South Africa's Foskor and Morocco's OCP. Its shipments to Lithuania totalled 943,000t last year, accounting for 38pc of all rock exports from the region, trade data show.

Belgium and Norway are also major destination markets for Murmansk rock, receiving 783,000t and 687,000t rock last year, respectively. In Norway, Yara is likely the key recipient for its finished fertilizer production. Yara did not respond to requests for comment.

By Harry Minihan

Phosphate rock volumes railed to Murmansk port