Urea is the most important nitrogen fertilizer on the market. It has the highest amount of nitrogen, about 46%. Urea is a white crystalline compound that is pH neutral and works well with all types of soils.

The chemical formula of urea is CO (NH2)2. In nature, urea is found in mammal urine. Commercial urea fertilizers are made by reacting ammonia with carbon dioxide.The main purpose of urea fertilizer is to provide nitrogen to plants. This helps plants grow green leaves and aids in photosynthesis.

Plants can’t absorb urea nitrogen directly. It needs to be converted into ammonium and nitrate, which are forms of nitrogen that plants can use. Once applied, urea fertilizer reacts with water in the soil and with urease, an enzyme found in soils. This process, called hydrolysis, converts urea into ammonium carbonate.

In recent years, the world population has increased, and the importance of consuming healthy food has grown. Urea plays a crucial role in food production. However, other factors also affect the demand for urea, such as methane and coal used in urea production, economic growth, climate change, and changes in food patterns worldwide.

China is the largest producer and consumer of urea globally. India and the Middle East also have significant urea production capacities. India has a negative balance, meaning its urea consumption is higher than its domestic production. In the Middle East, the consumption volume is considerably lower than the production, leading to a significant amount of urea being exported.

Urea production capacity in Iran last year was 8.7 million tons and its operational production was 6.7 million tons, of which 2.89 million tons were for domestic sales and 3.8 million tons for export. Last year, the total value of the country’s urea exports was equal to 1.6 billion dollars with an average price of 418

Dollars/to Neighboring countries, China and India, are major buyers of urea produced in the country’s refineries. This product is exported to Brazil, as well as neighboring countries. Iran plans to increase its share of the world’s urea production capacity to 6.6% by 2025. This includes 44% of the urea production capacity in the Middle East. Currently, Iran accounts for 6.5% of the world’s urea trade and 19.8% of the Middle East’s trade. By 2025, these shares will increase to 27.8% and 50.8%, respectively.

Brazil is one of the largest buyers of urea in the world. Last year, they imported 7,840,000 tons of urea, with 13% of that coming from Iran. Arman Kimia is working to improve the trade balance between the two countries and increase Iran’s share in Brazil’s petrochemical industry.