Acron Group, Moscow, said it had supplied Argentina with over 100,000 mt of liquid fertilizers, predominantly UAN, last year. The group established a local distribution company, Acron Argentina SR., in 2018 for direct fertilizer sales to this South American country, and its first cargo of liquid fertilizers arrived in the country in May 2019 (GM May 24, 2019).
This first cargo comprised 20,000 mt of UAN for sale to end consumers through the group’s Argentina distribution network.
In order to expand its liquid fertilizer portfolio and complement UAN with sulfur, a key macronutrient for Argentine growers, the Russian group subsequently started supplying ammonium thiosulfate solution (ATS).
To support direct sales, it has leased storage facilities with a total capacity of about 50,000 mt in the strategically located ports of San Martín and Zárate, and hired a fertilizer sales team in the country.
Acron Vice President Overseas Dmitry Khabrat said UAN is already in great demand in Argentina’s agricultural sector, and is widely used by local growers to produce corn and wheat. But buyers had limited access to the global UAN market due to poor infrastructure, an issue, he said, the group has managed to solve.
“We use the storage facilities to maintain UAN inventories and ship supplies to growers as needed, even as little as a single truckload,” said Khabrat.
Acron is targeting a 20 percent share of the country’s liquid fertilizer market, and expects to reach that “in the near future.” The group additionally, next year, plans to start selling dry fertilizers to Argentina.
The expansion in Argentina is an important part of the Acron group’s stated strategy to expand its presence in key markets.