Government Holds Emergency Inter-Ministerial Inspection Meeting on the 1st
Even Urea That Passed Customs Inspection Is Blocked
91% of Urea Imports Are from China
Recently, China has partially restricted the export of urea solution to South Korea, triggering a 'red light' for domestic urea solution supply. Although two years have passed since the 'urea solution crisis' in 2021, concerns are rising that supply disruptions may occur again due to the failure to diversify import sources.
According to the government on the 3rd, related ministries including the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Environment held an emergency inspection meeting on November 1 regarding imports of Chinese urea solution. This was to assess the situation after receiving reports that imports of urea solution from China were not proceeding smoothly.
According to companies based in China, since November, there have been repeated concerns that customs authorities have been holding urea solution shipments destined for South Korea during the Chinese customs clearance process. Recently, a report was received from a Korean company in China to the Korea Customs Service that the General Administration of Customs of China, which corresponds to Korea's customs authority, is preventing the shipment of urea solution that has already passed customs inspection. It is said to be unusual for Chinese customs to block goods even after customs inspection. The government, which experienced the urea solution crisis two years ago, immediately began assessing the situation.
The government is officially raising the issue with the Chinese government through various channels to inquire about the current situation and the reasons behind it. The government is requesting China to release the urea solution shipments blocked at customs. The Chinese government is reported to have conveyed to the Korean government that "there have been no official measures." However, it is understood that China has not yet responded to South Korea's inquiry about the reasons for blocking the shipments.
An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stated, “We became aware of delays in urea solution imports on the 30th of last month,” adding, “We held an emergency inspection meeting to assess the situation and requested related positions from the Chinese government through various channels including the embassy in China, but there has been no response.”
The government maintains that there is no need to worry about a supply crisis like in the past, as it has secured additional stockpiles. An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said, “Currently, there is more than a three-month supply in stock, so there will be no supply problems until early March next year,” and added, “Since we have already secured alternative sources from about ten countries since 2021, there will be no supply issues even if imports from China are restricted.”
South Korea still relies heavily on China for most of its urea solution imports. According to the Korea Customs Service, the share of Chinese urea solution imports accounted for 91% up to October this year. The share of Chinese imports, which had dropped to 67% last year, has significantly increased this year, exceeding 90%. This is because Chinese urea solution is more price-competitive than imports from other countries such as Vietnam.
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