Nigeria buys emergency Canadian potash

… to replace lost Russian supply

ABUJA - Nigeria had to buy emergency supplies of Canadian potash in April after the country was unable to import the key fertiliser from Russia due to the impact of Western sanctions, the head of Nigeria’s sovereign investment authority (NSIA) said.

Uche Orji, the head of NSIA, declined to comment on prices. However, spot prices today are up more than 250 percent for deliveries to west Africa compared to last year, according to commodities pricing agency Argus Media, dealing a further blow to the country’s finances.

The move shows one of many unintended negative consequences of sanctions to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, which it calls a “special military operation.”

The International Monetary Fund said last week that the invasion had delivered a further “huge negative shock” to sub-Saharan

Africa, driving food and energy prices higher and putting the most vulnerable people at risk of hunger.

The extra pressure comes as many countries are still reeling from the protracted Covid-19 pandemic.

Nigeria has for years been battling double-digit inflation, which quickened to 15.92 percent last month, and its population of 200 million will face even higher food costs this year and the next as the agricultural sector passes on the higher costs of imported wheat, diesel and fertiliser.

“Russia was unable to deliver so we bought spot from traders in Canada. The Canadian High Commission in Nigeria helped start the conversation with producers,” Orji said.

NSIA negotiates imports of raw fertiliser materials like potash as part of the Nigerian government’s programme to develop its capacity to produce blended fertiliser.