Last year Ukraine produced 1.13 million tons of nitrogen fertilizers, which is 4.6 times less compared to 5.2 million tons in 2021, while their import rose 3.1 times – to 4.3 million tons from 1.4 million tons, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine said on Facebook.
The Ministry specified with reference to the head of the analytical project “Infoindustry” Dmitry Gordeichuk that the volume of domestic production of nitrogen fertilizers in Ukraine before the full-scale Russian invasion exceeded imports due to continuous operation of plants “Rivneazot”, “Azot” North Donetsk Association and “Azot” Cherkasy, “Dniproazot” also worked with intervals.
However, according to him, with the beginning of the war only two plants “Rivneazot” and Cherkasy “Azot” remained working, while Severodonetsk “Azot” stopped working and was significantly damaged by the occupants. Such changes significantly changed the statistics on the market for the worse: as a result, only 1.13 million tons of fertilizers could be produced in 2022, the lack of which compensated for the import of 4.3 million tons.
“The topic of fertilizer shortage is one of the most urgent for the agricultural sector and Ukrainian farmers, because we are waiting for the spring sowing season, which the whole world will be watching. Ukraine is one of the leading countries on the agricultural map and its production volume determines the world price on the grain market and the food security of the world. Accordingly, the liquidity of farmers is a topical issue for the Ministry of Agrarian Policy” – quotes Minister of Agrarian Policy Mykola Solskyy as saying.
According to the Minister, until July 2022 Ukrainian farmers were still able to buy fertilizers at pre-war prices, but in October the prices for ammonium nitrate rose from 27 thousand UAH / ton to 37 thousand UAH / ton, which created a critical situation for the Ukrainian farmers. He stressed that usually farmers are guided by the rule, according to which a ton of nitrate must not cost more than 2.5 tons of wheat and a ton of urea – not more than 3.0-3.5 tons of corn, while in 2022 these figures were exceeded two or three times.
Ministry of Agrarian Policy noted that today it is difficult to calculate the exact cost of fertilizers for modern Ukrainian agrarian, but the cost of basic nitrogen fertilizer per 1 ha of corn is approximately 8-9 thousand UAH without fertilizing and fuel costs, which have also increased in price. Therefore, the final amount is not attractive for the agrarian at the moment.
“Much depends on climatic conditions, because fertilizers work as a complex nutrition and the main thing is weather conditions. But if the agrarian will apply less fertilizer by 30% or more, then the drop in yield can be twofold. Therefore, support of international partners in this matter is very important to us, “- First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy Taras Vysotsky quotes it.
As previously reported, according to estimates of Group DF, the main fertilizer producer in Ukraine, the fertilizer market of the country in 2022 decreased by 45-50% – from 4.75 million tons to 2-2.9 million tons.
Slovakia’s electricity imports for Saturday rose 26.16 percent over Friday to 9,296 MWh, a new record high since it actually began in January, according to data on the website of Continental Europe System Operators Network ENTSO-E.
According to the website, imports will be 388 MW each in the 20 hours of the day and 383-385 MW in the remaining hours.
According to data on Ukrenergo’s electronic auction platform, the largest interstate cross-section capacity for imports for that day was booked by D.Trading – 450 MW for all hours of the day. In addition, 9 MW for all hours of the day was booked by Augusta Trading and 7 MW by ERU Trading. For tomorrow, the capacity booked by D. Trading and Augusta remains at the same level, with ERU Trading increasing it to 8 MW, plus 30 MW booked by DE Trading for all hours.
The cross-section price was still 0 UAH/MWh.
In total, Ukrenergo has been auctioning off 500-600 MW of cross-section capacity, which has almost doubled since January 26, depending on the hour of the day.
As reported, Ukraine, as ENTSO-E website testifies, started to receive imported electricity on January 15.
On January 15, 655 MWh, on January 20 – 220 MWh, on January 21 – 6,963 MWh, on January 22 – 6,672 MWh, on January 25 – 99 MWh, on January 26 – 3,813 MWh, on January 27 – 7,368 MWh. Total – 25790 MWh.
The most active importer is D.Trading. Besides it, ERU Trading, Nackstrade, as well as DE Trading, NAP-Comunity, Augusta, and U. Comodities booked the section in small amounts.
DTEK, for its part, said on January 25 that it had started importing electricity from Europe this month, and according to its calculations, the current electricity transmission capacity allows it to import about 500 million kWh per month, which corresponds to the monthly consumption of 2 million households.
According to the head of Ukrenergo Volodymyr Kudrytskyy, the imports, carried out by the trader DTEK and other companies, reduce the load on the energy system, but cannot fully cover the deficit of electricity.
According to the network operators, the limits of electricity consumption allocated to the regions allow to cover about half of the necessary resource, in Kiev – about 64%.
Electricity imports on January 21 will amount to almost 7 thou MWh – it is 290-291 MWh every hour, according to data on the website of the Continental Europe System Operators Network ENTSO-E.
According to the information, the electricity is supplied from Slovakia.
As reported on January 21, the interstate section of 290MW for every hour of the day was booked by “D.Trading”, 5MW for all hours of “ERU Trading”, as well as 1MW for three hours from 16:00 to 19:00″ August.
For Jan. 22, D. Trading and ERU Trading booked the same capacity plus 1 MW each for the two nightly hours of NAP Community.
A total of 300-350 MW was auctioned, depending on the hour of the day, with a buyout price of 0 UAH/MWh.
According to DaM Europe in the established JSC “Market Operator” Telegram channel, the average price for electricity on the Slovak Republic on January 21 – 130.83 EUR / MWh, in Ukraine, the price of electricity BASE period on the DAM – 83.71 EUR / MWh.
The import supply on January 21 is the third in January reflected on the ENTSO-E website. The first was on January 15 – a total of 655 MWh: three hours of 50 MW (from 02:00 – 05:00), the following hours of 125 MW, 170 MW and 150 MW, and from 21:00-22:00 another 20 MW. D. Trading (130 MW each for all hours), ERU Trading (20 MW each for all hours), and Nextrade (20-30 MW depending on the hour) booked the section for that day. The second was for January 20, 220 MW in the last hour of the day, the cross-section for which was bought by D.Trading.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in early January approved a regulation on the peculiarities of electricity imports during the autumn-winter period of 2022/2023, which as an incentive for businesses to import more expensive European resource gave guarantees of non-disconnection on the volume of imported electricity. According to Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko at a briefing on 20 January, in order to receive guarantees of non-disconnection, businesses must import a significant amount of electric power in accordance with their consumption, indicating that “it cannot be 1 MW”.
Ukraine in 2022 decreased imports of nickel ores and concentrates in physical terms by 71.9% year-on-year to 346,719 thousand tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), in monetary terms, imports of nickel ores decreased by 73.8% to $15.428 million during the period.
Imports were from Guatemala (100% of shipments in monetary terms).
For 2022, like in 2021, Ukraine did not export or re-export these products.
As reported, Ukraine in 2021 reduced imports of nickel ores and concentrates in volume terms by 20.6% compared to 2020 – to 1 million 235.533 thousand tons. In monetary terms, imports of nickel ores decreased by 22.2% to $58.929 million. Imports were from Guatemala (100% of deliveries in monetary terms).
In 2021, Ukraine did not export or re-export this product.
Ukraine imports nickel ore from Pobuzhsky Ferronickel Plant (PFK, part of Solway Group).
PFC processes about 1.2 million tons of ore per year.
Gasoline imports for 28 days in December increased by half compared to November, diesel fuel – by 10%, wrote in Facebook director of consulting group A-95 Sergey Kuyun on Thursday.
“In 28 days of December, gasoline imports increased one and a half times compared to November, diesel fuel – by 10%. For the last three days of the year, the result will be even better,” he said.
According to the expert, some networks of filling stations already have a reserve of fuel for the entire January 2023.
“Yesterday the “precipitation” of prices has already begun, today it is expected to continue,” Kuyun added.
According to the price bulletin of the group “A-95”, the average retail price of gasoline A-95 in Ukraine on Thursday, in particular, was 51.99 UAH / liter, down from December 27 by 0.8% (52.38 UAH / liter), the price of “A-95 +” – 53.07 UAH / liter (0.1% lower than on December 27 – 53.13 UAH / liter).
Ukraine in January-November this year, Ukraine decreased imports of aluminum ores and concentrate (bauxite) in volume terms by 79.8% over the same period last year – up to 945.396 thousand tons, in November imports were not carried out.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), during this period, imports of bauxite in monetary terms decreased by 77.5% – to $48.166 million.
Ukraine did not re-export bauxite in January-November 2022.
As reported, Ukraine in 2021 decreased imports of aluminum ore and concentrate (bauxite) in volume terms by 0.1% compared to 2020 – to 5 million 114.227 thousand tons. Imports of bauxite in monetary terms increased by 4.2% to $236.638 million.
Imports were carried out mainly from Guinea (59.33% of supplies in monetary terms), Brazil (21.33%) and Ghana (16.8%).
Ukraine in 2021 made re-export of bauxite in the amount of 277 tons worth $ 70 thousand to Belarus (48.57%), Poland (40%) and Russia (7.14%), while in 2020 was re-exported to Poland 255 tons of bauxite worth $ 41 thousand.
Bauxite is an aluminum ore used as a raw material for producing alumina, and from it, aluminum. They are also used as fluxes in iron and steel industry.
Bauxite is imported into Ukraine by the Nikolaev Alumina Refinery (NGR), which before the war was affiliated with the United Company (UC) Russian Aluminum (RusAl, RF). Bauxite is used to produce alumina.
“RusAl in Ukraine also previously owned a stake in the Zaporozhye Aluminum Plant (ZALK), which stopped producing primary aluminum and alumina.
