EuroChem Group AG is a nitrogen and phosphate fertilizer company owned by Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko and based in Switzerland. Its subsidiary, Lifosa AB, produces and wholesales nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizers, feed phosphates, and aluminum fluoride.[1] Based in Lithuania, it sells its products to approximately thirty countries worldwide.
In 2014, Lifosa AB was the second-largest importer of phosphorus from Western Sahara, importing 400,000 tons worth $44 million.[2] In 2015, imports decreased to 68,000 tons, and though Lifosa claimed it would be ending its imports entirely,[3] as late as October 2016, it was still importing an estimated 75,000 tons on one bulk carrier.[4]
[1] EuroChem, “Contact Us,” http://www.eurochemgroup.com/en/contact-us/#.
[2] Western Sahara Resource Watch Report, P for Plunder, March 2015, http://wsrw.org/files/dated/2015-03-11/p_for_plunder_2014_web.pdf.
[3] Western Sahara Resource Watch, “Lifosa Ends Imports of Western Sahara,” February 25, 2016, http://www.wsrw.org/a243x3389.
[4] Western Sahara Resource Watch, “Lifosa Lied about Having Stopped Controversial Imports,” October 10, 2016, http://www.wsrw.org/a106x3598.
