OSTCHEM cuts urea production by more than 40%
Nitrogen plants of OSTCHEM, part of Dmytro Firtash’s Group DF, produced 1.5 million tons of mineral fertilizers in 2025, down 12.7% compared to 1.8 million tons in 2024.
According to the company’s press service, Cherkasy Azot produced 1 million tons of mineral fertilizers in 2025, while Rivneazot manufactured 554,300 tons.
The key products manufactured by OSTCHEM plants in 2025 were:
- ammonium nitrate — 672,400 tons (42.8% of total output);
- UAN (urea ammonium nitrate) — 539,170 tons (34.3%);
- urea — 232,030 tons (14.8%);
- ammonia — 61,470 tons (3.9%).
Compared to 2024, production of ammonium nitrate decreased by 11.6%, urea by 42.3%, and ammonia by 18.0%. At the same time, UAN output increased by 6.4%.
The company noted that the main factors constraining production in 2025 remained high energy costs, unstable electricity supply, war-related risks, declining purchasing power among growers, and ongoing import pressure.
“We are convinced that strategic products must primarily be manufactured within Ukraine. Without its own chemical industry, the state becomes critically dependent. Ukrainian plants are capable of meeting domestic demand under predictable and equal operating conditions. Our task is to preserve the country’s industrial foundation, and we are consistently implementing a number of programs to achieve this goal,” said Serhii Pavliuchuk, Production Director of OSTCHEM’s nitrogen business.
According to him, in 2025, the plants operated strictly against confirmed demand and focused on products required under current market conditions.
OSTCHEM data show that total mineral fertilizer imports to Ukraine in 2025 amounted to 2.94 million tons, including 1.77 million tons of nitrogen fertilizers. For comparison, imports totalled 2.49 million tons in 2024 (1.4 million tons nitrogen) and 1.9 million tons in 2023.
The largest import volumes in 2025 were:
- urea — 650,400 tons;
- ammonium nitrate — 446,500 tons.
In the urea segment, the main suppliers were Azerbaijan (392,700 tons) and Turkmenistan (158,200 tons), which together accounted for about 84.7% of total urea imports to Ukraine.
For ammonium nitrate, the largest suppliers were Poland (214,200 tons), Bulgaria (119,500 tons), Kazakhstan (45,100 tons), and Uzbekistan (29,400 tons).
According to the latest Eurostat data, 2025 saw a significant increase in imports of Russian fertilizers into EU countries, particularly Poland. Compared to the previous year, supply volumes rose nearly 1.5 times.
