Public associations of farmers are asking the government to consider the possibility of providing chemical enterprises with a commodity loan for 1.25 billion cubic meters of natural gas for the production of mineral fertilizers, this will avoid a shortage of fertilizers and “unrestrained price increases” for them next spring.The corresponding appeal of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UAC), the Agrarian Union of Ukraine, the Federation of Employers, the Union of Chemists of Ukraine, the Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the Council of Entrepreneurs under the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Agri Council and the Ukrainian Agrarian confederation to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal was published on the UAC’s website.As stated in the appeal, over the past month, most of the major European producers of nitrogen mineral fertilizers have reduced production due to a sharp rise in prices for natural gas, which leads to a shortage of mineral fertilizers in the European and world markets.According to UAC, Ukraine meets the needs for mineral fertilizers mainly due to domestic production, while in order to provide the country’s sowing campaign, 2.3 million tonnes of fertilizers are needed for the period of November 2021-May 2022, of which 75% is expected from domestic production and 25% – from import supplies.In such conditions, an important component of providing Ukrainian farmers with nitrogen fertilizers is the stable and uninterrupted operation of domestic producers, primarily in the winter period, when their stock is formed for the spring sowing campaign and feeding winter crops. In turn, this can be achieved only if there is a necessary supply of natural gas, the main raw material for the chemical industry at a stable price.The associations in their appeal suggested that the government consider the possibility of allocating a commodity loan for 1.25 billion cubic meters of natural gas to domestic producers of nitrogen fertilizers for the period from November 2021 to April 2022 at the expense of the reserves of NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy.
