Romania’s largest fertilizer plant Azomureş, located on the border of the Tirgu Mures region, has again suspended its work due to high energy prices.
According to the company’s announcement on Wednesday, June 22, the international gas price has risen sharply in recent days from €80 per MWh to €125-130. An explosion at a LNG terminal in the US, problems in gas supply chains and an increase in gas reserves for the winter season have all led to the current price increase. At the same time, the price of fertilizer has decreased due to the season, so production is no longer economical.
In this regard, the management of the plant suspended the procurement of ammonia for fertilizers, which is produced from natural gas. Fertilizer production will continue only as long as the existing ammonia reserves are sufficient. Azomureş said other European manufacturers have made a similar decision due to the overall unfavorable market situation.
Azomureş CEO Harry Kiiski lamented the lack of assistance to large energy consumers in Romania, as the Romanian state does not apply EU support, the legal framework of which has already been adopted, but the application of which is still being discussed by the Romanian authorities. One positive example in this regard is neighboring Bulgaria, where large industrial consumers have access to gas at a capped price of €72.
Azomureş does not yet plan to send employees on forced leave, but will do so if it has to suspend its activities for an extended period.
Azomureş produces 1.6 million tons of fertilizers per year, of which about 75% goes to the Romanian market. The plant, owned by the Swiss company Ameropa group since 2012, employs 1,100 people. Last year, 2021, from December to April, the work of this plant was also suspended due to high energy prices.
