JSC Belaruskali

Industry	Chemical
Founded	1958
Headquarters	Salihorsk, Minsk Region, Belarus
Key people	Ivan Halavaty (Russian: Ivan Golovaty) (CEO)
Products	Potash fertilizers
Revenue	Br 4.797 billion (2019)[1]
Net income	819,589,000 (2018)
Number of employees	16,000
Website	www.belaruskali.by

Belaruskali (Belarusian: Беларуськалій, Russian: Беларуськалий) is one of the largest state-owned companies of Belarus. It is one of the largest producers of potash fertilizers in the world, accounting for 20% global supply as of 2019.^[2][3]

Belaruskali is the largest single taxpayer in Belarus^[4] and an important source of foreign currency of the Belarusian government.^[2] As of 2015, it accounted for 11% of tax revenues of Minsk Region.^[5]

Most of Belaruskali's production is exported to China.^[2][3]

The company was established in 1958 and comprises four production units, as well as auxiliary shops and service departments.^[3] The Belarusian Potash Company is the main distributor of potash fertilizers produced by Belaruskali.^[6][7]

In 2020, four thousand workers of Belaruskali have declared a strike as part of mass peaceful nationwide protests that followed a controversial presidential election, demanding resignation of Alexander Lukashenko and new democratic elections.^[8] There have been cases of miners cuffing themselves underground as part of the strike.^[9]

According to reports, Belaruskali management threatened and put psychological pressure on the strikers.^[10] Belaruskali paid extra bonuses to workers not participating in the strike.^[11]

The Belarusian authorities arrested and imposed 15-day prison sentences on some of the striking workers at Belaruskali.^[12][13] Four activists of the Belaruskali labour union - Siarhei Charkasau, Pavel Puchenia, Yury Korzun and Anatol Bokun - were arrested after the strike began. 49 Belaruskali workers were fired for participating in the strike, several had to flee from the country.^[14][15]

The arrested activists were later released following an international solidarity campaign,^[16] fired workers were reinstated following inquiries from Yara International, the largest trader of Belaruskali's products, regarding worker rights violations at Belaruskali.^[17][18][11]

In 2020, Belaruskali became one of the centers of strikes after the presidential election and violence against protesters.^[19] On November 19, Belaruskali fired 49 striking workers, purportedly for absenteeism.^[20]

On 24 June 2021, the European Union has introduced restrictions on potash trade with Belarus as a reaction to "the escalation of serious human rights violations in Belarus and the violent repression of civil society, democratic opposition and journalists, as well as to the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk on 23 May 2021 and the related detention of journalist Raman Pratasevich and Sofia Sapega."^[21]

On 9 August 2021, the United States have added Belaruskali to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List,^[22] while United Kingdom and Canada have imposed restrictions on potash trade with Belarus.^[23][24] In a statement by the U.S. Treasury, Belaruskali is described as "a major source of tax revenue and foreign currency for the Lukashenka regime".^[22]

On 2 December 2021, Belaruskali was added to the sanctions list of the United Kingdom,^[25] while the Belarusian Potash Company was added to the SDN List by the United States Department of the Treasury.^[26]

In 2022, Canada, the EU and Switzerland imposed sanctions against Belaruskali, its CEO Ivan Golovaty, and the Belarusian Potash Company.^[27][28][29] In January 2023, the enterprise was included in the sanctions list of Ukraine.^[30] In September 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union refused to lift the EU sanctions against Golovaty, Belaruskali and the Belarusian Potash Company.^[31]

In August 2024, an investigation was published by the Belarusian Investigative Center, Belsat, the Ukrainian service of Radio Liberty, Cyber Partisans and OCCRP, according to which a company registered in Cyprus and associated with Viktor Sheiman’s circle was used to circumvent sanctions against Belaruskali.^[32]

• Official website