Agrarian Council appealed to the government: farmers ask to launch the Odesa Port Plant and cancel import duties on fertilizers

The All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council has appealed to the government regarding the critical situation with the provision of nitrogen fertilizers to the agricultural sector on the eve of the spring sowing.

This is stated in a message on the association’s website.

The appeal to the Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine Oleksiy Sobolev notes that due to the events in the Middle East, the world supply of mineral fertilizers has significantly decreased, which has already led to a rapid increase in prices.

“Currently, the existing supply on the world fertilizer market is not able to satisfy the demand for them. As a result, exchange prices for urea have already reached the level of $730 per ton and have prospects for further growth,” the Agrarian Council emphasizes.

The situation is also complicated by the internal deficit of the key fertilizer – ammonium nitrate, the import of which has been limited.

“If the situation is not urgently corrected, the reduction in the total crop yield due to nitrogen deficiency may significantly exceed 20% and have a long-term effect,” the appeal states.

The VAR also emphasizes that Ukraine has the resources to promptly launch its own fertilizer production.

“According to market analysts, as a result of the attacks on CHPs and their temporary shutdowns, gas consumption was reduced and its reserves are 3 billion m³ higher than last year, which makes it possible to urgently start the production of nitrogen fertilizers,” the association notes.

Because of this, the Council appealed to the government with a request to take urgent measures to stabilize the mineral fertilizer market and provide farmers with resources for the sowing campaign.

In particular, the farmers are asking:

• to facilitate the earliest possible launch of the capacities of the Odesa Port Plant for the production of ammonia and urea,

• to initiate the abolition of import duties on the import of urea, ammonium sulfate, ammonium and lime-ammonium nitrate.

In their appeal, the Agrarian Council emphasized that the implementation of these steps will stabilize the price situation on the market and minimize risks for the future harvest.

As a reminder, at the end of February 2026, the farmers called for the opening of nitrate imports through Ukrainian ports, since its shortage could lead to a reduction in the harvest.