“As per a government decision for the current fiscal year (started in March), 2.2 million tons of urea fertilizer should be provided to the Agricultural Support Services Company for distribution. Since the beginning of the year, we have provided the entire monthly quotas to the ASSC for distribution among farmers,” Ahmad Mahdavi Abhari was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
Referring to the annual production of about of 5 million tons of urea fertilizer in Iran, he said: “We provide our own farmers with their share and export the surplus”.
Iran is self-sufficient in production of urea and there is no need for import. Annual urea fertilizer required by farmers is estimated at t 2.5 million tons, Mahdavi Abhari noted.
The agricultural industry widely uses urea, a white crystalline solid containing 46% nitrogen as an animal feed additive and fertilizer. In the past decade, urea has surpassed and nearly replaced ammonium nitrate as a fertilizer.
More than 90% of world industrial production of urea is destined for use as a nitrogen-release fertilizer. It is also used as raw material in other industries.
Urea production in Iran is projected to rise three-fold by the end of the Sixth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (2017-22).
Urea output is planned to reach 14.7 million tons per annum after expansion of several petrochemical plants including the third phase of Pardis Petrochemical Complex in Asalouyeh, Bushehr Province, Lordegan Urea Fertilizer Plant in the Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari Province, and Hengam Petrochemical project in the Hengam Island in the Persian Gulf.
New urea production units are part of Iran's drive to raise petrochemical production capacity from 66 million tons to more than double in five years.
The global urea market is currently estimated to be worth $64.1 billion and is estimated to grow annually at approximately 2% until 2022.
Likewise, global capacity is projected to increase by 17 million tons to reach 226 million tons by 2021, moving towards a potential growing surplus in the long-term.
Supplier power is medium in North America, high in the EU and medium in Asia, while buyer power is medium in North America, low in the EU and medium in Asia.
India has the highest demand growth rate of 3.5%, followed by North America with 2.5%. On a regional basis, Africa, North America, and 12 countries in the EECA region account for 70% of the overall capacity growth.