Russian farmers faced a shortage of ammonium nitrate

Farmers and agricultural enterprises of the Krasnodar region are facing a shortage of ammonium nitrate. Last fall, they expected the price for ammonium nitrate to go down, but it kept increasing, and they didn’t make the advance purchases. As of today, the shortage is about 60 thousand tons.

In general in Russia, the deficit of ammonium nitrate is 100 thousand tons per month because the demand has exceeded its production.

“The situation may be caused by the actions of traders. Earlier, producers of nitrogen fertilizers froze the ammonium nitrate prices and are supplying it strictly following their own obligations to consumers and the plan approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia,” noted the information and analytical service of Fertilizer Daily. “While traders didn’t accept any obligations to fix prices, so they can raise them amid strong demand for ammonium nitrate. In any case, it’s necessary to figure out the reasons for the shortage and whether farmers could purchase the required volume of ammonium nitrate in advance.”

Source: Kommersant