OREANDA-NEWS. April 02, 2012. Economic crime squads of the Interior Ministry of Belarus have nailed Mogilev farmers involved in criminal schemes to export potash fertilizer to Russia, the Interior Ministry’s Eduard Nikitin told a press-conference on Tuesday.

The police saw large volumes of potash fertilizer shipped to farmsteads of Mogilev Region in October-November 2011. Some of the farmsteads, which bought thousands of tonnes of potash fertilizer from Belaruskali, did not even have arable land, the police said.

The solution to the Mogilev fertilizer mystery was simple: Belaruskali sells potash fertilizer to overseas customers at USD 300 per tonne, while the fixed price for the local market is as low as USD 30 per tonne. Mogilev Region has a common border with Russia, which prompted local farmers an idea to earn an quick buck, Nikitin said.

As a result of such illegal business schemes, Belaruskali lost USD 2.7 million, the official informed.