<article><p class="lead">Germany's imports of calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) rose by 24pc on the year to 766,000t in July-November 2020 — the first five months of the European agriculture/fertilizer year — while its urea intake continued to fall.</p><p>Combined imports of CAN from Belgium and the Netherlands — representing product from Norwegian company Yara, Dutch firm OCI and Switzerland-based Eurochem — increased by 47pc to 292,000t.</p><p>Deliveries from Poland rose by 6pc to 76,000t, while arrivals from Slovakia climbed by 63pc to 48,000t.</p><p>German receipts of Turkish product — which can often pressure CAN prices in European markets, even if delivered in relatively small quantities — also increased notably, rising by 187pc to 20,000t.</p><p>But shipments to Germany from Austria, where chemical and fertilizer firm Borealis produces CAN, fell by 7pc on the year to 80,000t.</p><p>Shipments from the Czech Republic and Lithuania also fell — by 14pc and 12pc to 85,000t and 74,000t, respectively — despite the overall increase in July-November imports.</p><p>Germany's fertilizer regulations favour CAN over urea, and imports of the latter decreased by 18pc on the year to 120,000t in July-November.</p><p>Urea intake from the Netherlands fell by 9pc to 69,000t, while imports from Lithuania dropped by a third to 9,000t.</p><p>But deliveries from Poland and Austria rose by a quarter and by 22pc to 23,000t and 11,000t, respectively.</p><p class="bylines">By David Maher</p></article>
