Romania’s biggest fertilizer producer, Azomureş SA, said on April 26 it will restart production in early May, a month later than anticipated by the company in late March.
The company anticipates limited production of ammonium nitrate, calcium ammonium nitrate, urea, and melamine in the first period, with NPK to follow in the coming months.
Azomureş said on March 28 it would resume production in “the first part of April” if the European Commission (E.C.) granted a financial aid package designed to benefit European energy-intensive fertilizer companies (GM April 1, p. 27).
In early April, the Commission issued a framework for Member States to support essential agricultural companies. Azomureş noted that Poland and Germany already have put forth substantial aid packages, of respectively, €836 million and €20 billion, with special provisions for fertilizer manufacturers.
“The Romanian government has not yet put anything precise in place, but the Ministries of Energy, Economy, and Agriculture are working in consultation with industry participants like Azomureş to issue a similar aid package within the E.C. framework,” the company said.
“All of this leads to our restart of production in early May,” it said.
However, Azomureş cautioned that with natural gas supply remaining tight and “at price levels that lead to high fertilizer cost levels even with government aid,” until the Romanian state aid package is confirmed, the company will remain at below capacity production. At the same time, it believes it is essential for a successful 2022-2023 agricultural campaign to not delay a production restart further.
The company temporarily stopped fertilizer production on Dec. 17 last year due to “the very high prices” for energy, natural gas, and electricity, saying “the resulting fertilizer prices based on the prevailing energy costs would not be affordable to distributors and farmers” (GM Dec. 17, 2021; Dec. 10, 2021).
The Târgu Mureș-based company’s annual fertilizer production under normal operating conditions is 1.6 million mt, with approximately 75 percent of the output destined for Romanian farms, according to the company. It produces granular and prilled AN, granular CAN, granular urea, and NPs as well as NPKs.
Azomureş has been owned by Swiss Group Ameropa, via a subsidiary, since 2012.