Romania’s biggest fertilizer producer, Azomureş SA, said on Sept. 14 it will reduce its operations further as soaring natural gas prices make production unsustainable.
The company, which suspended ammonia production on June 23 (GM June 24, p. 1) following a series of production halts earlier this year, said it plans to relocate or furlough 200 of its employees and reduce maintenance servicing company activities to its production facilities by “at least 30%” in the coming months. It said only essential staff will be retained for night and weekend shifts.
Nevertheless, Azomureş said its production facilities are ready to be restarted at 50% capacity, “when the economic realities are met.”
At the time of the June ammonia production suspension, the Romanian producer said it would continue to produce fertilizers at its Târgu Mureș site until the existing ammonia stock was depleted.
It only restarted production in early May (GM April 29, p. 32), after halting fertilizer production on Dec. 17 last year due to “the very high prices” for energy, natural gas, and electricity (GM Dec. 17, 2021; Dec. 10, 2021).
Azomureş, a subsidiary of Swiss Group Ameropa, has an annual fertilizer production under normal operating conditions of 1.6 million mt, with approximately 75% 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.