Ukraine’s Ostchem Holdings produced 2.1 million mt of nitrogen fertilizers in 2023, up 20% from the previous year’s 1.75 million mt, according to a media statement by parent company Group DF. DF is owned by Ukraine businessman Dmytro Firtash.
Ostchem currently has two fertilizer plants in operation. Cherkasy Azot produced 1.56 million mt of fertilizers last year, a 40% increase from 2022, while Rivne Azot produced 528,000 mt, an 11% year-over-year increase, according to Group DF. The main fertilizers produced were ammonium nitrate (835,900 mt), UAN (572,700 mt), and urea (447,100 mt).
“The fertilizer market is recovering, but the increased import of nitrogen fertilizers prevented us from making full use of our plants,” said Ostchem Production Director Sergei Pavlyuchuk, as cited in the statement.
“Despite the difficulties in the agricultural sector, the forced shutdown of plants due to the war, the stubbornly high gas prices, and abnormally high volumes of imports into Ukraine at dumping prices, Ostchem began to restore production volumes in 2023,” he said, adding that the company fully met demand from farmers, even during peak periods.
According to the statement, mineral fertilizer imports into Ukraine in 2023 increased by 1.9 times compared with 2022, reaching 1.99 million mt. Of the total fertilizer imports last year, imports of urea grew by 3.7 times, to 501,000 mt.
Group DF said in the statement that despite Ukrainian sanctions, “colossal” flows of Russian and Belarusian fertilizer are being imported into Ukraine.
In a separate development, Pavlyuchuk confirmed that Ostchem/Group DF are holding talks with global players about the development of the company’s industrial sites. The plans include the construction of new workshops and plants, as well as investment in new energy-efficient fertilizer production and the launch of new products such as AdBlue, industrial gases, and petrochemicals.