UNITED NATIONS, November 29. /TASS/. The first ship with 20,000 metric tons (MT) of Russian fertilizers on board sailed from a Dutch port to Africa, Stephane Dujarric, the Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, said in his release on Tuesday.

"The first shipment of 20,000 MT of fertilizer left the Netherlands on a WFP-chartered vessel, MV Greenwich, starting today, destined for Malawi via Mozambique. It will be the first of a series of shipments of fertilizer destined for a number of other countries on the African continent in the coming months," Dujarric said.

"The United Nations is continuing intense diplomatic efforts with all parties to ensure the unimpeded exports of critical food and fertilizers from Ukraine and the Russian Federation, exempt from sanction regimes, to the world markets," the Spokesman added.