European Union (EU) countries imported 75,760 mt of urea from Azerbaijan in the first half of 2023, a 76% year-over-year increase, according to a bne IntelliNews report, citing EuroStat. The value of the urea imports increased 46%, to €30.174 million.
The top importers in the six-month period, according to the report, were Romania with 45,865 mt, up 420% year-over-year; Italy with 19,440 mt versus no deliveries in the previous year; Greece with 5,500 mt versus no deliveries in the previous year; Slovenia with 4,753 mt versus no deliveries in the previous year; and Poland with 180 mt versus no deliveries in the previous year.
EU countries imported a total of 78,651 mt of urea from Azerbaijan in 2022, a 32% increase on 2021’s import volume, according to the report.
Azerbaijan has been producing urea since the start-up in January 2019 of the State Oil Co. of the Azerbaijan Republic’s (SOCAR) ammonia and urea complex at Sumgayit, some 30 km from the capital of Baku (GM Jan. 18, 2019).
The plant has nameplate production capacity of 650,000-660,000 mt/y of granular urea. However, according to Trade Data Monitor data, global imports of urea from Azerbaijan totaled only 289,859 mt in 2021.