Normalization of Ukrainian agricultural exports should help farmers buy fertilizers for 2024 season - deputy minister

MOSCOW. Dec 8 (Interfax) - The normalization of agricultural exports from Ukraine would have a positive effect on the supply of farmers, in particular, with mineral fertilizers, Ukrainian media quoted Taras Vysotsky, first deputy agrarian policy and food minister, as saying in a statement circulated by the ministry press service.

"The areas under oilseed crops are growing. We hope the sector will start recovering next year," Vysotsky said at a conference dealing with the situation on the Ukrainian mineral fertilizer market. On November 10, the specialized analytical agency Infoindustry said the Ukrainian fertilizer market was in a critical situation as farmers lacked funds to buy mineral fertilizers, including ammonium nitrate, which overstocked warehouses of chemical producers. In particular, while farmers typically buy over 100,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate a month, they bought only 62,000 tonnes in October 2023.

The Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry said at the conference that Ukraine has produced nearly 2 million tonnes of mineral fertilizers in 2023, while the industry's potential annual output is about 3 million tonnes.

"The fertilizer industry has considerable export potential, and therefore, there is a need to expand export markets, including EU countries," it said.

According to the Ukrainian Agri Council (UAC), the crop farming industry in Ukraine has operated at a loss in the 2023 season, and farmers' losses from selling their corn, wheat, and rapeseed might amount to $3.181 billion, prompting multiple bankruptcies.