Washington (U.S.A), 26 February, 2016 (SPS) - Lithuanian fertilizer producer, Lifosa, will stop importing phosphate from occupied Western Sahara to adhere to international law announced, Thursday, EuroChem, the parent company of Lifosa.
The Group “does not intend to purchase phosphate rock from Western Sahara in 2016 or any time over the foreseeable future”, said Russian Group EuroChem in a letter to Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW).
Lifosa was one of the biggest importers of occupied Western Sahara phosphate.
Over the past seven years, the company took in more than 2 million tons of Western Sahara’s phosphate rock.
WSRW’s report “P for Plunder 2014” ranked Lifosa as the second biggest phosphate importer globally.
WSRW has been in dialogue with both Lifosa and its owners, EuroChem Group, since 2010. the company’s initial reluctance to thoroughly respond to WSRW’s questions, resulted in its delisting, in June 2011, from the United Nations’ list of Socially Responsible Corporations.
The list is maintained by Global Compact, an initiative of the UN that encourages business worldwide to adhere to the principles corporate social responsibility.
Ever since, Lifosa and EuroChem held discussions with WSRW and eventually changed attitude concerning the imports of Sahrawi phosphate.
In March 2014, the company stated to WSRW that it was seeking to implement ways to diversify its external purchases and thus, before deciding to cease phosphate imports from Western Sahara from 2016 onwards.
“We congratulate Lifosa for adhering to international law by ending its purchases from the occupied territories", said Sandra Bogdanova, WSRW’s coordinator in Lithuania.
"Morocco has no right to sell the resources of the Saharawi people, as such sales only prolong the conflict. We guarantee that Lifosa's decision will be warmly welcomed by the people of Western Sahara", Bogdanova said.
Lifosa was the last European importer of phosphate rock from occupied Western Sahara. With its withdrawal, all shipment to Europe ended with one notable exception to Ukraine, in 2015.
In 2013, Australian company Impact Fertilizers also announced that it would stop such purchases, along with fertilizer companies from Norway, Germany and the United States. (SPS)
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