Russia restricts export of fertilizer used to make explosives

The government of the Russian Federation has temporarily banned the export of ammonium nitrate abroad, suspending export licenses until April 21, 2026, Interfax reports.

The exception is supplies under intergovernmental agreements. The Ministry of Agriculture said that this step was dictated by the need to provide the domestic market with fertilizers in the midst of spring field work in the face of growing global demand.

An additional factor was the February attack by Ukrainian drones on the Smolensk Dorogobuzh plant, which provided 11% of the total production of ammonium nitrate in Russia (saltpeter is used not only as a fertilizer, but also as a component of explosives).

It should be noted that back in 2021, Russia introduced restrictions on the export of ammonium nitrate in the form of quotas. Now we are talking about a complete stop.

The rise in global prices for fertilizers, including ammonium nitrate, is a consequence of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a third of the world’s maritime trade in fertilizers passes.

The Gulf countries are the largest producers of nitrogen fertilizers. About a million tons of fertilizers are physically blocked in the Gulf. Under these conditions, Russian ammonium nitrate, the production of which relies on its own natural gas, is becoming one of the few large sources of nitrogen fertilizers available to the world market, which explains the sharp increase in export demand.