Just as markets have come to grips with a $4 jump in the price of crude oil to $135 yesterday, Europe’s leading supplier of AdBlue, GreenChem, has warned of imminent price hikes.
GreenChem’s costs have been hit by a sharp increase in the price of urea, from which AdBlue is made.
“The price of our basic raw material has climbed steeply in recent weeks and we – and other suppliers – will have no alternative to passing the increase on to our customers,” says GreenChem’s founding chairman Tuen de Bruijn. “However, the increase in AdBlue pricing will be much lower than fleet operators are facing for their diesel, so the impact on operating costs will be very low.”
Urea prices have risen by 50% since the start of the year: this alone would lead to a 3 Euro cents per litre increase (about 2.5p/litre), representing a minimum increase of 8%. He forecasts further increases in AdBlue prices in the coming months.
The price of urea is being driven by the increased cost of natural gas (a key element in the production of AdBlue), and increasing demand from both biofuel suppliers and food producers worldwide (particularly China). Furthermore the earthquake in China has cut urea production by around 4 million tonnes.
