Achema, Lithuania’s biggest fertiliser manufacturer based in Jonava, has announced it is stopping its plant as of September 1 due to high prices of natural gas, one of the key ingredients.
For the time being, only the production of resins and technical gases will be maintained.
“In the current market situation, most Western fertiliser producers are forced to shut down their factories and Achema is no exception. The record prices of natural gas directly affects the cost of production, and the prices of our fertilisers are becoming uncompetitive in comparison with the production of US and Russian producers,” Ramunas Miliauskas, CEO of Achema, has said.
During the shutdown, some employees will continue to work to ensure maintenance and protection of the equipment, while the rest will be furloughed.
Natural gas is the main raw material for the production of nitrogen fertilisers, accounting for around 70% of the cost.
Since September last year, only one of the two ammonium production plants at Achema has been operating, which means that the company has been operating at one-third of its capacity.
Achema’s CEO Miliauskas said last spring that the company used to sell about 30% of its fertilisers on the Lithuanian market, but this year purchases almost stopped. (LRT/Business World Magazine)