Ambassador Jeong Jae-ho: "Requested China's Cooperation on Export Restrictions of Urea... Responded with Plans for Follow-up Measures"

As Chinese authorities suddenly suspended the customs clearance of industrial-use urea for South Korea, Ambassador Jeong Jae-ho of the Korean Embassy in China said on the 4th that the embassy requested cooperation from Chinese authorities regarding customs clearance. He explained that the Chinese side responded that they would take the necessary follow-up measures.

At a regular briefing held at the Korean Embassy in Beijing on the same day, Ambassador Jeong said, "As the actual customs clearance difficulties faced by our companies importing urea were identified, on the 1st, we sent official letters to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), General Administration of Customs, Ministry of Commerce, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, respectively, raising the issue of urea difficulties for South Korea and requesting smooth customs clearance." He added, "The NDRC immediately acknowledged the relevant content on the day the letter was sent and replied that they would consider the necessary follow-up measures."

He stated, "The embassy continuously requests the Chinese side to operate export control systems in a predictable and reasonable manner to stabilize the supply chain between the two countries," and added, "In November, through communication channels between our Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Commerce, we requested cooperation from China to prevent supply chain instability caused by export controls."

He continued, "According to related ministries, as of the end of November, the domestic stock and contracted volume of automotive urea and urea solution are estimated to be about 3.1 months' worth," emphasizing, "To ensure continuous imports of urea from China, we will keep identifying the difficulties faced by our companies and maintain necessary consultations with the Chinese side under close communication with our related ministries to prevent any supply issues domestically."

According to Ambassador Jeong, the Korean Embassy in China formed a task force (TF) led by Economic Counselor Ryu Bok-geun on the 17th of last month after the China Nitrogen Fertilizer Association issued a document advising its members to restrain nitrogen fertilizer exports and prioritize supply within China, and the TF has been monitoring market trends.

In addition, a senior official at the embassy explained regarding the graphite control measures implemented since the 1st, "As of the 2nd, no unusual trends from our companies have been reported yet," and added, "The embassy will closely monitor the impact in preparation for any situation and will make thorough preparations, including requesting cooperation to stabilize the supply chain."

Meanwhile, earlier, the local chemical fertilizer industry had speculated that the urea export restrictions could last until as late as the first quarter of next year. According to the local online platform China Chemical Fertilizer Network, industry analyst Tan Junying wrote in a post the day before that "recently, the urea market has shown fluctuations and weakness, with positive and negative factors evenly balanced," and predicted that urea exports could be restricted until the first quarter of next year.

He elaborated, "According to recent news, urea exports were temporarily suspended in December, and there are talks in the market that all exports will be restricted until the first quarter of next year," adding, "Various signs indicate that the urea export route has been blocked." He also forecasted that production restrictions combined with natural gas limitations would reduce urea supply in December. According to statistics from China Chemical Fertilizer Network, the current total daily urea production is 173,400 tons. Tan Junying predicted that from mid-month, natural gas urea companies in the southwestern region will enter a concentrated inspection period, leading to factory shutdowns lasting about a month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.