Europe’s Fertilizer Industry Shrinks Again as Energy Chaos Bites
- A third of ammonia output capacity reduced or curtailed: CRU
- European fertilizer producers cannot compete on global market
A tractor spreads fertilizer in Hatfield Peverel, U.K.
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
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Europe’s ammonia production capacity shrank even further with more reductions expected as two Polish companies joined a growing list of fertilizer makers cutting output because of rocketing energy costs.
Grupa Azoty, Poland’s largest chemical company, trimmed ammonia output on record gas prices, while Anwil, a unit of oil company PKN Orlen SA halted production of the nutrient. That means about 38% of Europe’s production capacity for the key fertilizer ingredient is now reduced or completely curtailed, according to Chris Lawson, an analyst at researcher CRU Group.