Logo ofSABIC AN
SABIC AN announced that global urea prices experienced a downturn in early Q4 2024, driven by lower seasonal demand and the market’s dependence on tender-based sales. 
In its 2024 financial report, SABIC AN explained that increased export volumes intensified competition among suppliers, negatively impacting urea prices and trade flows. This led to western hemisphere shipments being redirected to eastern markets, reflecting a trend of capitalizing on slower demand.
The company noted that urea prices in late Q4 were bolstered by several global production disruptions. These included periodic maintenance-related outages in North Africa, China’s continued export absence, and the interruption of production in several factories in Europe (particularly Iran) due to winter gas-to-electricity conversion.
In 2024, the average sales price declined by 3%, while sales volume grew by 3% year-on-year (YoY), resulting in a 0.3% increase in revenue.
By 2025-start, considering the anticipated seasonal demand, global urea markets seem to be supported by several factors. These include large-scale import tenders and efforts by key importers to boost inventory levels amid uncertainty about when the market’s supply shortage will be resolved.
Overall, global urea prices are benefiting from the existing imbalance between supply and demand, as the supply shortage is expected to persist to some extent. This is driven by challenges in gas availability during winter and restricted exports from Asia.
Logo ofSABIC AN
SABIC AN announced that global urea prices experienced a downturn in early Q4 2024, driven by lower seasonal demand and the market’s dependence on tender-based sales.
In its 2024 financial report, SABIC AN explained that increased export volumes intensified competition among suppliers, negatively impacting urea prices and trade flows. This led to western hemisphere shipments being redirected to eastern markets, reflecting a trend of capitalizing on slower demand.
The company noted that urea prices in late Q4 were bolstered by several global production disruptions. These included periodic maintenance-related outages in North Africa, China’s continued export absence, and the interruption of production in several factories in Europe (particularly Iran) due to winter gas-to-electricity conversion.
In 2024, the average sales price declined by 3%, while sales volume grew by 3% year-on-year (YoY), resulting in a 0.3% increase in revenue.
By 2025-start, considering the anticipated seasonal demand, global urea markets seem to be supported by several factors. These include large-scale import tenders and efforts by key importers to boost inventory levels amid uncertainty about when the market’s supply shortage will be resolved.
Overall, global urea prices are benefiting from the existing imbalance between supply and demand, as the supply shortage is expected to persist to some extent. This is driven by challenges in gas availability during winter and restricted exports from Asia.
