Proposed urea plant secures $2.4b worth of deals without being built
- The Australian Fertilizer Corporation has secured new supply agreements for urea, aiming to strengthen domestic availability of a key agricultural input used widely in crop production.
- The deals are expected to improve supply stability and reduce reliance on volatile international markets, which have previously caused price spikes and shortages for farmers.
- Industry stakeholders say the agreements could help stabilise fertiliser costs over time, supporting farm productivity and reducing pressure on Australian grain and livestock producers.
An Australian fertiliser company says it has already sold the entire urea output from its proposed plant, worth about $2.4 billion, before it has been built.
The Australian Fertilizer Corporation plans to build a facility on the site of a defunct ammonia export project at the Port of Gladstone, about 530 kilometres north of Brisbane.
Chief executive Stein Haugan said the company secured contracts covering all of its planned production capacity of 220,000 metric tonnes of technical grade urea per year for the next 10 years.
“The core product that will be coming out is AdBlue, which is an emission exhaust control product,” he said.
“One [customer] is an Australian company, which will be exclusive for the Australian market.
“And one is a major international producer and marketer of the same product, which will have the exclusivity for all the overseas market.”
Out of the blue
Demand for AdBlue, a fuel additive that reduces pollution, has risen globally as stricter emissions standards are adopted for diesel vehicles.
In Australia, all new cars are required to meet a standard …
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Original article and photo by "ABC News"
