The possibilities for increasing exports of Ukrainian mineral fertilizers and controlling their imports, in particular preventing the import of fertilizers from the aggressor country through other countries, were discussed by the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, Vitaliy Koval, at a working meeting with representatives of domestic mineral fertilizer producers at the ministry, according to a press release on the ministry’s website.
“This meeting was supposed to answer the question of how to increase exports of Ukrainian fertilizers to Africa, Asia, and further to the EU. Representatives of Ostchem (the largest producer of nitrogen fertilizers) and the Union of Chemists of Ukraine were unanimous at this meeting: imports remain the key problem,” said Oleg Arestarkhov, director of corporate communications at Group DF, to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
According to him, it is imports that prevent Ukrainian companies from expanding production and increasing exports, primarily imports from countries of the former Soviet Union, which have a single market with Russia: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan, which account for almost half (300,000 tons) of all nitrogen fertilizer imports.
“They have access to cheap gas, so they can dump prices. Total imports of nitrogen fertilizers in the first four months of 2025 amounted to 1.2 million tons, of which 689,300 tons were nitrogen fertilizers. For comparison, Ukrainian production for the four months will be about 500,000 tons,” Arestarkhov said.
He added that Ukraine is losing the urea market, and a new trend is that China has begun to actively supply low-quality cheap ammonium sulfate.
According to the Ostchem representative, due to growing imports, Ukrainian enterprises are operating at the break-even point, which is holding back capital investment in industrial sites and forcing them to lay off workers.
An additional problem for Ukrainian producers is Russian shelling, after which Ostchem had to shut down its workshops several times in the first quarter due to damage to the external gas and energy infrastructure.
“It is logical that we are waiting for support from the government. We spoke openly about this at the meeting and provided them with all the statistics. The dominance of imports is one of the reasons for the decline in the industry. This is also the reason why Dniproazot and the state-owned Odesa Port Plant cannot start production. If the government lends a helping hand, it will see an increase in exports,” Oleksiy Golubov, president of the Ukrainian Chemists’ Union, told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
In turn, Minister Koval emphasized the instructions of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to expand the geography of exports, in particular to the Middle East and Africa, as well as to open a mineral fertilizer hub in South Africa and develop trade between the two countries.
“Ukraine has all the prerequisites for mineral fertilizers to become not only a means of strengthening food security within the country, but also a strategic export commodity,” said the head of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy.
According to the press release, representatives of investment companies, including umgi, also participated in the meeting.
