Polish fertilizer and chemicals producer Grupa Azoty SA and subsidiary Grupa Azoty Puławy have offered their customers much lower prices for nitrogen fertilizers, Grupa Azoty said on Oct. 18.
The move follows Azoty restarting production at its nitrogen fertilizer, caprolactam, and polyamide 6 units in Tarnów on Oct. 12, and Puławy increasing capacity utilization and starting up the Agro Segment’s process units used to make nitrogen fertilizers in response to a change in market conditions (GM Oct. 14, p. 28).
The units had been temporarily shut down since Aug. 23 due to the record high natural gas prices (GM Aug. 26, p.1).
“The prices of nitrogen fertilizers significantly below the Pln4,000 per mt (approximately $818 at current exchange rates) mark are what the market expects, allowing the continuation of economically viable agricultural production,” Azoty said in a statement. “This is also the level of prices that the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development has repeatedly referred to when persuading farmers to hold off on their purchases.”
The group believes “right now” is the best time to buy, as “conditions on the gas market may change overnight,” prompting another decision to halt or cut fertilizer production.
“As our fertilizers are now the cheapest to be found in the European Union, it is worth stocking up in advance – at least partly – on the volumes of nitrogen and NPK fertilizers needed for spring application,” said Tomasz Hryniewicz, Grupa Azoty Vice President of the Management Board and President of the Management Board of Grupa Azoty Puławy.