China’s Urea Production, Consumption and Trade, a Quick Glance

By Chen Ping, China National Chemical Information Center

China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of urea. In 2013, China accounted for 37% of the world’s urea capacity, 40% of the urea output, 34% of the consumption, 0.1% of the imports and 23% of the exports.

Capacity and production

In 2013, new plants increased China’s urea capacity by 8.86 million t/a, while some old urea plants were phased out, eliminating a combined 0.99 million t/a. An additional new combined 2.8 million t/a urea capacity is believed to have been put into operation in the first half of this year.
According to China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, China’s urea capacity was estimated at 80.7 million t/a as of the end of 2013, and it is forecast to reach 95 million t/a by 2015.
China’s urea output amounted to 67.07 million tons in 2013, and is projected to reach 71 million tons in 2014. The country’s overall urea plant operating rate was estimated at 83.1% in 2013; and it is forecast to decline to 75% in 2015, given an 8.5 million tons of urea exports in 2015.
According to China Nitrogen Fertilizer Industry Association, in 2012, China produced 49.387 million tons of ammonia and 43.133 million tons of nitrogen fertilizer (N, 100%), of which 28.486 million tons was urea.
In 2013, China produced 50.945 million tons of ammonia and 44.965 million tons of nitrogen fertilizer, of which 30.85 million tons was urea, accounting for 69% of the country’s total nitrogen fertilizer output. In 2013, ammonium chloride accounted for 6.8% of the country’s total nitrogen fertilizer output; ammonium bicarbonate accounted for 6.1%; ammonium nitrate accounted for 3.4%; ammonium sulfate accounted for 2.1%; and others accounted for the remaining 12.6%.
In 2013, 59.3% of China’s ammonia output was based on anthracite, 22.0% was based on natural gas, 17.1% was based on bituminous coal or lignite, and the remaining 1.7% was based on other raw materials.
In 2013, 55.3% of China’s urea output was based on anthracite, 27.3% was based on natural gas, 15.9% was based on bituminous coal or lignite, and the remaining 1.5% was based on other raw materials.

China’s top urea-producing provinces and regions

In the first half of this year, China produced 16.432 million tons of urea (N 100%, same below), down 0.9% YoY, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS).
China’s top five urea-producing provinces and regions are Shandong (14.0%), Shanxi (12.7%), Henan (12.5%), Xinjiang (8.1%) and Hubei (5.9%), followed by Hebei (5.4%), Sichuan (5.0%), Anhui (4.6%), Shaanxi (3.9%), Jiangsu (3.7%), Inner Mongolia (3.6%), Jiangxi (3.1%), Chongqing (2.7%), and Guizhou (2.6%). See Figure 1 for detail.

China’s top urea makers

More than twenty domestic urea makers have a urea capacity of over 1 million t/a each, with their combined urea capacity accounting for 72% of the country’s total.
China’s top ten urea makers have a combined urea capacity of 42.6 million t/a, accounting for over 50% of the country’s total. See Table 1 for detail.
In 2013, Shanxi Jincheng Anthracite Mining Group’s 18 fertilizer affiliates produced 13.6 million tons of urea in total; Yihua Group’s affiliates produced 5.89 million tons of urea in total; Shandong Ruixing produced 1.94 million tons; Shanxi Tianze produced 1.90 million tons; Henan Xinlianxin produced 1.35 million tons; and Shandong Luxi Chemical Group produced 1.81 million tons.            

Consumption

In 2013, 43.8 million tons of urea was consumed in the country’s agricultural sectors, including the urea consumed in the production of compound fertilizers; while 13.5 million tons was consumed in industrial sectors.
More specifically about industrial uses, urea-formaldehyde (UF) resins accounted for about 63% of the country’s total industrial consumption of urea, melamine for about 19%, denitration accounted for 13%, and other uses accounted for 5%.
Growth of urea consumption in China’s production of urea-formaldehyde is forecast at 5% annually during 2013-2018. UF resins are used mainly as adhesives and binders for construction and in the production of different building boards such as plywood, flake board and medium-density fiberboard.
Growth of urea consumption in the production of melamine is forecast at 3.7% annually during 2013-2018. Melamine is consumed primarily in the production of melamine-formaldehyde resins, which are used mainly for decorative laminates, surface coatings, molding compounds, and adhesives. China’s 2013 melamine output is estimated at 830 kt, consuming about 2.57 million tons of urea.
China’s top ten agricultural nitrogen fertilizer-consuming provinces are: 1) Henan, which consumed 3.71 million tons of nitrogen fertilizer (N 100%) for its agricultural production 2013, according to a survey and the statistics compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture; 2) Shandong, 2.78 million tons; 3) Hubei, 2.09 million tons; 4) Hebei, 2.02 million tons; 5) Jiangsu, 1.97 million tons; 6) Anhui, 1.90 million tons; 7) Hunan, 1.45 million tons; 8) Sichuan, 1.34 million tons; 9) Guangdong, 1.33 million tons; and 10) Guangxi, 1.33 million tons.

Foreign trade

In 2013, China exported 5.57 million tons of nitrogen fertilizer (N 100%), up 14.1% YoY. By product, China exported 8.265 million tons of urea (product, same below), up 19.0% YoY; 3.819 million tons of DAP, down 2.9% YoY; 0.709 million tons of MAP, up 19.2% YoY; 0.558 million tons of NP, down 34.8% YoY; 2.919 million tons of ammonium sulfate, up 35.6% YoY; 0.474 million tons of ammonium nitrate, up 2.1% YoY; and 0.398 million tons of ammonium chloride, down 28.6% YoY.
During 2006-2013, China’s urea exports increased at an average 33% annually. The level of opportunistic seasonal exports from China will vary from year to year depending on the domestic supply/demand balance, the international price of urea, and the export tariffs on urea. The main export destinations in 2013 were India (36.8%), Vietnam (7.5%), the US (6.9%) and the Mexico (5.3%).            

Table 1   Urea capacity of China’s top ten producers (kt/a)

Urea Maker    Urea capacity, 2013
Shanxi Jincheng Anthracite Mining Group    14 190
Yihua Group    6 170
CNPC    5 160
Shanxi Yangquan Coal Group    4 440
Shandong Ruixing Chemical Co., Ltd    2 400
Sichuan Chuanhua Holding    2 250
Shanxi Tianze Coal Chemical Group    2 200
Henan Xinlianxin Fertilizer    2 000
Shandong Luxi Chemical Group    1 950
Liaoning Huajin Chemical Group    1 870
Combined urea capacity of the top ten    42 630