Fertiliser company Ballance Agri-Nutrients says it is comfortable with the legality and ethics of its phosphate source in the Western Sahara after a $7 million shipment was seized in South Africa.
The NM Cherry Blossom, carrying 50,000 tonnes of phosphate rock, was stopped at Port Elizabeth on Monday amid claims its cargo was illegally taken.
The mineral comes from Laayoune, in the Moroccan-controlled part of Western Sahara which has been under dispute since 1975 when war broke out between Morocco and the Polisario movement fighting for the Sahrawi people.
A lawyer for Polisario in Cape Town, Andre Bowley, says a court hearing over the cargo will be held on May 18.
Ballance chief executive Mark Wynne says it is the first time a shipment had been seized, and it is working with suppliers and lawyers to ensure it gets through.