OSTCHEM plants produced 520.6 thousand tons of fertilizers in Q1

The leader in terms of production is ammonium nitrate — 246,000 tons

OSTCHEM Nitrogen Holding (part of Group DF) increased mineral fertilizer production by 1% year-on-year – to 520.6 thousand tons in Q1 2024. This was reported to GMK Center by the press service of Group DF.

In January-March 2024, Cherkasy Azot produced 404.3 thousand tons, while Rivne Azot produced 128 thousand tons.

The production structure remains fairly stable. Ammonium nitrate is the leader, with 246 thousand tons of this product produced in Q1 2024. UAN ranks second, with 123.8 thousand tons produced in January-March, and urea is third (123.5 thousand tons).

In the first quarter, compared to the same period in 2023, the production of UAN increased slightly, amounting to 15.8 thsd tonnes. In January-March, the company also produced 9.08 thousand tons of ammonia.

According to the company, OSTCHEM has been meeting its obligations in full during the spring sowing season for several years in a row. However, in 2024, the negative industry trend intensified, with fertilizer imports significantly exceeding domestic production.

According to Oleg Arestarkhov, Head of Corporate Communications at Group DF, if we compare OSTCHEM’s production results for Q1 2024 with the same period last year, production growth has actually stopped.

«The reason is that the Ukrainian market is flooded with imported fertilizers. In the first quarter of 2024, imports amounted to 701.2 thousand tons, exceeding domestic production by 35%. Imports continue to kill domestic production, and four fertilizer producers have already been shut down: OPP, Dniproazot, Rivneazot, and Sumykhimprom,» Arestarkhov emphasized.

Ukrainian producers continue to lose ground on the Ukrainian market in most fertilizer segments, except for UAN. This primarily concerns urea. According to Oleg Arestrakhov, in the first quarter of this year, Ukraine produced 123.5 thsd tons of this product, while imports in the same period amounted to 181 thsd tons.

«88% of all imported urea was imported from Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, which are friendly to Russia. Poland is also strengthening its position as the largest importer of fertilizers to Ukraine. Poland is currently flooded with cheap Russian and Belarusian fertilizers, which are not subject to EU sanctions. They are redirecting all the excess fertilizers from the Polish market to Ukraine,» explained the Head of Corporate Communications at Group DF.

In 2023, Poland imported 1.016 mln tons of urea to its territory, 34% of this volume was made up of products from Russia (345 thsd tonnes), the company said. At the same time, in the first quarter of 2024, Poland has already become the undisputed leader among importers of such fertilizers as ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate nitrate, UAN, and NPK in the Ukrainian market.

The Group DF representative emphasized the urgent need for practical steps to reduce imports and provide real protection for Ukrainian fertilizer producers. He emphasized that the Ukrainian Union of Chemists has addressed the government with specific proposals that can protect the domestic market and avoid the chemical industry’s decline in 2024.

OSTCHEM plants increased fertilizer production by 19.5% y/y in 2023. Last year, Cherkasy Azot produced 1.56 million tons of mineral fertilizers, up 39.6% y/y, and Rivne Azot produced 528 thousand tons (-10.8% y/y).

OSTCHEM is a nitrogen holding of Group DF that unites the largest mineral fertilizer producers in Ukraine. It includes Rivne Azot, Cherkasy Azot, Severodonetsk Azot and Stirol (which are not in operation and are located in the occupied territories).