The All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council and the Ukrainian Agrarian Business Association have appealed to the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture of Ukraine to urgently allow the import of ammonium nitrate through seaports. The reason for this is the sharp deterioration in the situation of providing farmers with nitrogen fertilizers on the eve of the spring sowing.

Industry associations have reminded that after Russia’s attacks on port infrastructure, a ban was imposed on handling, storing, and transporting a number of goods, including ammonium and ammonium nitrate.

At the same time, agricultural associations emphasize that including ammonium nitrate in the list of explosive goods lacks scientific justification.

“No explanations were provided as to which documents or studies the conclusion was made that ammonium nitrate is explosive,” the appeal states.

According to the associations, international and national standards define the opposite.

“According to the UN Model Regulations, ammonium nitrate belongs to UN 2071 group – non-explosive goods. Grades A and B with a nitrogen mass fraction of not more than 28% are non-combustible, fire- and explosion-safe substances,” the associations emphasize.

Thus, due to the current ban and simultaneous decline in domestic production, the market has already faced a shortage. As of February 2026, the shortage of nitrate is estimated at 100-170 thousand tons. The production of ammonium nitrate in Ukraine has almost halved – from 1.99 million tons in 2024-2025 to 1.016 million tons in the 2025-2026 season due to attacks on infrastructure and power supply disruptions.

“A reduction in the total crop due to a nitrogen shortage could reach 20%,” the document emphasizes.

At the same time, on approximately half of the soils, ammonium nitrate can be replaced by ammonium nitrate, but currently farmers are practically deprived of access to it.

The associations state that they support security measures in wartime conditions but propose to introduce controlled imports with clear safety parameters.

Source - https://agronews.ua