Urea estable en AL tras ataque a Venezuela

: Agriculture, Fertilizers
26/01/09

El ataque de Estados Unidos a Venezuela no afectó directamente a los precios de la urea granulada en los mercados monitoreados por Argus en América del Sur. Persiste la incertidumbre en la región sobre la disponibilidad venezolana para cargas futuras y los precios a los que será ofertada.

Venezuela es el mayor productor de urea de América Latina, con un 36pc de la capacidad de producción de la región, estimada en 8,2 millones de toneladas (t)/año, de acuerdo con Argus. La petroquímica estatal Petroquímica de Venezuela (Pequiven) produce urea en tres grandes complejos petroquímicos ubicados en los estados de Carabobo, Zulia y Anzoátegui.

El país tiene una capacidad productiva de casi 3 millones de t/año de urea, de las cuales 2,2 millones de t/año son de urea granulada y 792.000 t/año de urea perlada, según datos de Argus.

Aunque Venezuela sea el principal productor de la región, Bolivia — que ocupa el cuarto lugar en capacidad productiva, después de Venezuela, Brasil y Argentina — es el principal exportador.

Mientras que Venezuela exportó 421.972t de urea en 2025, Bolivia exportó 478.707t de fertilizante nitrogenado, según el Global Trade Tracker (GTT). Brasil aparece como el principal importador de ambos orígenes, recibiendo 399.963t de urea venezolana y 301.755t de urea boliviana en 2025, lo que representa el 5,2pc y el 3,9pc del total de entregas a Brasil, respectivamente. Venezuela también exportó 22.008t a Colombia durante el periodo, mientras que Bolivia cuenta con una cartera de compradores más diversificada, suministrando fertilizante a Argentina, Paraguay, Perú y Chile.

Participantes del mercado con actuación en Argentina, Bolivia y Brasil señalan que aún es pronto para prever cuáles serán los efectos potenciales en el mercado de la urea de la región. Es posible que otros productores de América del Sur aumenten sus precios, reflejando el costo del riesgo de comprar el producto venezolano.

Venezuela exporta fertilizantes a través del puerto de Jose, y no a través del puerto de La Guaira, que fue objeto de un ataque de EE.UU. durante la operación para capturar al presidente venezolano Nicolás Maduro. Sin embargo, el costo del transporte de urea desde Venezuela aumentó tras el ataque estadunidense, aunque se espera que los cargamentos y envíos deben continuar. No hay información sobre interrupciones en la producción o problemas en el movimiento de cargas.

Brasil debe recibir al menos dos barcos cargados desde Venezuela, con llegada prevista a los puertos de Paranaguá y San Francisco del Sur a principios de enero, según datos de lineup de la agencia marítima Unimar. Ambos fueron cargados entre el 30 y el 31 de diciembre, con fechas estimadas de atraque el 5 y el 10 de enero, respectivamente, transportando 30.000t de urea cada uno. No hay barcos de Venezuela con llegada prevista a los puertos argentinos en enero, según la agencia marítima Heinlein.

India sube los precios de la urea

Los precios de la urea granulada no sufrieron alteraciones inmediatas en reacción a los ataques de EE.UU. a Venezuela y la consiguiente incertidumbre política en la región.

Los precios subieron en Brasil debido a acontecimientos específicos en el mercado de fertilizantes. El precio diario de Argus para la urea granulada se situó en $415-425/t cfr Brasil el 5 de enero, un aumento de $5/t en comparación con el nivel anterior al ataque, de $410-420/t cfr Brasil el 2 de enero. El aumento refleja los acontecimientos del 5 de enero de la licitación india de compra. India recibió ofertas de venta más bajas en $424,80/t cfr costa oeste y $426,80/t cfr costa este, en comparación con $418-420/t cfr en la licitación anterior, del 20 de noviembre.

La baja liquidez también prevalece en los principales mercados de América del Sur. Brasil está a punto de comenzar la siembra de la segunda campaña de maíz 2025-26 y los participantes del mercado esperan que haya demanda de última hora en enero, pero los importadores están, en su mayoría, alejados del mercado.

Argentina necesita comprar fertilizantes nitrogenados para la siembra de trigo, que comienza en mayo, pero los importadores están prácticamente ausentes del mercado, mientras que los agricultores se concentran en las actividades del campo. Paraguay también está buscando fertilizantes nitrogenados para la campaña de soja 2025-26, pero el enfoque principal es el sulfato de amonio (SA) como fuente de nitrógeno.

Por Renata Cardarelli

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