If you are with us, we’ll discuss ammonia and then define urea and Iran ‘s role in meeting the global needs of urea.
It is an organic compound and its chemical formula is CO (NH2)2.
As a result, the raw material of urea is ammonia.
Ammonia
Ammonia is the main element in the nitrogen industry.
People use nitrogen fertilizers very much. They make more than 60% of all fertilizers.
Ammonia is essential for the production of urea. 90% ammonia is urea.
People sell 10 percent of it to global markets.
The raw material for the production of ammonia is natural gas or coal gas.
China, coal and other major countries use gas.
Environmental issues are the most important challenge for the ammonia industry because it is the largest producer of CO2 emissions.
In China, people use coal to produce ammonia, so people consider strict regulations.
This has increased the price of urea in global markets and offers it on a limited basis.
Ammonia production process is Haber process.
People combine hydrogen gas with air nitrogen and produce ammonia.
Urea
Urea is in the form of solid nitrogen fertilizer in the world and in developing regions of the world.
It has many fans. People sell it in international markets very much.
80 to 85% urea is fertilizer. People fertilize more than 40 percent of food through urea and fertilizer.
The application of urea in industrial sectors is as follows:
Urea formaldehyde resin manufacturing, melamine, diesel exhaust fluids (DEF) and animal feed, preparation of adhesives and paints, laminate, molding compounds, paper and textiles.
The causes of urea increase are as follows:
Increasing global population, economic growth, changes in food patterns, as well as requiring to more fertilizer.
People use urea for non-fertilizer sections very much. One of its new products is urea fuel.
Production Capacity of Urea in Iran and the World
Urea production capacity in the world is 170 million tons by 2021, which is below capacity.
The major producers of urea are also its consumers. As a result, a small amount of global production of this product is related to trade.
China produces 30 percent of urea. As a result, people identify it as producer and consumer of this material.
People export more than 18 million tons of that in the Middle East. Iran has exported 32% of it.
Iran is the largest producer and consumer of urea.
The most important competitive advantage is the competition of each ton of it.
This issue distinguishes Iran and Saudi Arabia from other competitors.
Cost of Urea Production in Iran and the World
People produce each ton of urea at the cost of 95 dollars, while Saudi Arabia produces it for 90 dollars.
India must produce urea at $170 and China must produce more than $170 too.
These conditions are very favorable because there is a great distance between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
These two countries are important producers in terms of price.
Of course Iran has a better advantage than Saudi Arabia.
Because it has so many gas resources that are the main feed for production units.
As a result, it improves the production of urea.
The largest imports are India and Brazil.
Iran exports this substance to India but people export urea to Arab countries because of the current sanctions.
Urea Oversupply Challenge
In recent years, people consider a large capacity to produce this material.
China has produced the most it. Its production has increased from 31 million to more than 74 million tons.
India is one of the urea imports. It tries to be self-sufficient in this field with several schemes.
As a result, we predict that this material will grow slowly in the coming years.
Causes of Urea price decline are as follows:
Strict environmental regulations in China as well as agricultural expansion in Brazil.
Urea Companies in Iran
There are 6 manufacturing companies in Iran. The production capacity of urea is 7.7 million tons.
People consume 2.2 million tons and export the rest.
Production capacity in productive projects and large projects is 5.4 million tons.
As a result, there is competition in the domestic market and Iran offers more supply in the global market and the profit margin of the producing countries will decrease.
Urea Exports in Iran
People sell urea through the stock exchange for domestic use in a supportive manner and export the rest of it.
If companies export urea, their revenues will increase. Iran exports urea to the following countries:
India, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey and Iraq.
Individuals export part of urea products to Brazil and Australia because of sanctions.
Determining the Urea Rate
Feed gas urea companies have a direct relationship with the cost of urea. If energy carriers are released, they can increase the cost of it.
The factors affecting the final price of urea are as follows:
Exchange rate, global rate of urea and natural gas