Russian market of agrochemicals faces volatility

“By the end of 2020, the production of ammonium nitrate may reach 10 million tons in Russia,” said an analyst at Argus Irina Kuguchina during the 4th International conference “Argus Fertilizers 2020: Russia, CIS countries and Baltic”.

According to her statement, the production of the carbamide-ammoniac compound and ammonium sulfate will exceed 3 million and 1.1 million tons, respectively. At the same time, the consumption of ammonium nitrate in Russia may reach 6.5 million tons, the carbamide-ammoniac compound more than 1 million tons, and the consumption of ammonium sulfate 400 thousand tons.

The output of monoammonium phosphate and diammonium phosphate this year may reach the level of 4.6-4.7 million tons, while the demand for them may grow up to 3.5 million tons.

There are also interesting changes in the Russian mineral fertilizer market. As Tatyana Grebennikova, the Head of the Marketing Department of EuroChem Trading Rus, noted, there is a steady growth in sales of the carbamide-ammoniac compound. In 2005 it was sold only 23 thousand tons of it, while in 2019, the sales raised to 500 thousand tons. In 2020, the sales of the carbamide-ammoniac compound are expected at around 650 thousand tons.

Nevertheless, the demand for liquid mineral fertilizers (the carbamide-ammoniac compound is one of them as well) is constrained by several factors. Among them, we can note the lack of logistics capabilities and experience of their mass application, as well as the stereotype about their high cost.

The consumption of nitric-lime fertilizers is also held on the same level due to the habit of domestic consumers to evaluate agrochemicals by their cost rather than their effectiveness. Despite this, there are still great prospects for their use.