MOSCOW: Russia, which controls up to 40 percent of the global trade in ammonium nitrate, said on Tuesday it will stop exports of the fertilizer for one month until April 21 to ensure sufficient supply during the spring planting season.
Russia, a major fertilizer exporter, lacks the capacity to boost production this year amid a global supply crunch caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 24 percent of global trade in ammonia, an ingredient of ammonium nitrate, passes.
The Agriculture Ministry said it had stopped all issued licenses for ammonium nitrate exports and will not issue new ones, with the exception of those pertaining to government contracts. Russia produces a quarter of the world’s ammonium nitrate.
“In the context of growing export demand for nitrogen fertilizers, the suspension of their supply abroad will allow the needs of the domestic market to be prioritized during the spring fieldwork season,” the ministry said.
AMMONIUM NITRATE USED AT START OF PLANTING SEASON
