Russia has imposed a ban on ammonium nitrate (AN) exports for two months, starting Feb. 2 until April 2, the government’s press service said on Tuesday, Feb. 1.
The move is to ensure that the country has enough product for its domestic season. Reports were circulating last week that the Russian government was mulling a temporary ban on AN exports (GM Jan. 28, p. 27).
“This is a temporary measure, and the remaining volume can be exported starting on April 2 when demand for ammonium nitrate on the domestic market passes its peak,” an Interfax report cited Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov saying in the statement.
The temporary export ban will further exacerbate AN supply concerns, particularly among buyers in Brazil, who are the biggest offtakers of Russian AN.