China set to resume exports of urea this month

China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) held a significant meeting on May 15, during which updates to the urea export framework were decided, as per Chemweek.

These updates will allow some exports of the fertilizer to resume from this month, according to local media reports.

Exports under the China Inspection and Quarantine (CIQ) process will run from May to September, with the final customs clearance scheduled for Oct. 15.

China halted exports in December 2023 with the aim of ensuring sufficient supply in the country and stable domestic market prices for end users.

Key details include the establishment of export batches, with the first batch set for May to July and the second batch for August to September. Potential future exports will hinge on the execution of these batches.

In terms of pricing and volume control, a minimum export guidance price has been set at $360 per metric ton FOB for prilled urea and $370 per metric ton FOB for granular urea. Enterprises must adhere to allocated quotas and are prohibited from selling below the guidance price.

A total export quota of 2 million metric tons has been established for qualified urea producers and distributors, with extensions contingent on the domestic market’s performance.

Platts assessed FOB China prilled urea on May 15 at $349-359 per metric ton, unchanged on the week, and FOB China granular urea at $359-369 per metric ton, down from $369-379 per metric ton on May 8.

Market participants expect the first CIQ for urea exports to begin as early as next week, pending official confirmation.

Meanwhile, prices for standard-grade ammonium sulfate have softened after six weeks of increases, driven by weak demand from Brazil and Southeast Asia. This cautious market sentiment is reflected in reduced trading activity as buyers await clarity on China’s urea export policies.

Additionally, Indonesia’s state-owned Pupuk Indonesia issued a urea tender this week, attracting lower bids due to short selling among participants, which also negatively impacts ammonium sulfate prices. Platts reported a FOB caprolactam price for ammonium sulfate in China at $154-156 per metric ton on May 15, down from $157-157 per metric ton the previous week.

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Henkel AG said its adhesives business, Henkel adhesive technologies, has entered into a partnership with Nordmeccanica SpA (Piacenza, Italy), manufacturer of coating, laminating and metallizing technology, to jointly develop solutions for the packaging industry, as per Chemweek.

The two companies have been cooperating the past 30 years, Henkel said, adding that the formalization of their partnership follows the rapid transformation the packaging industry is currently undergoing.

“Evolving sustainability regulations such as the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation in the US, rising consumer expectations for recyclable and circular solutions, and the growing push for digitalization and automation of manufacturing processes are reshaping how packaging is designed, produced, and recovered,” Henkel said.

These developments demand faster innovation cycles and stronger collaboration within the packaging industry, the company said.

The partners aim to accelerate innovation and deliver optimally harmonized solutions across the entire packaging value chain, Henkel said. The partnership will also support the further development of digital processes and data evaluation, which contributes to more efficient and sustainable operations, it said. Sharing knowledge is also a key part of the strategic partnership, it added.

“With this new agreement, we are creating a strong basis for future projects and the best conditions for developing optimized solutions for our customers and the entire value chain,” said Rajat Agarwal, global head/packaging adhesives at Henkel.

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The European Parliament?s Committee on International Trade has approved a 50% increase in tariffs on some Russian and Belarusian agricultural goods that are still exempt from other customs duties, as per Chemweek.

This is stated on the European Parliament website. The goal is to further reduce the EU?s dependence on these two countries.

Among the products that will be subject to the new duties are sugar, vinegar, flour, and animal feed. The approved bill also provides for a 6.5% duty on fertilizers imported from Russia and Belarus. In 2025–2026, it is also planned to charge an additional €40–45 per ton of fertilizers, and by 2028, these duties will increase to €430 per ton.

The EU emphasized that profits from the sale of fertilizers from Russia and Belarus directly contribute to waging war against Ukraine.

The proposal will be put to a vote by the European Parliament during the next plenary session in Brussels on May 22.

In May 2024, the EU Council adopted a regulation imposing prohibitive duties on grain products. The EU approved prohibitive tariffs on Russian and Belarusian grainThe EU approved prohibitive tariffs on Russian and Belarusian grain
imported from Russia and Belarus. The regulation increases duties to a level that will effectively suspend imports of these products.

In October, Bloomberg, citing sources, wrote that several European Union countries are calling on the entire bloc to raise taxes on agricultural and fish imports.

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Battery materials company Vianode AS (Oslo, Norway) is collaborating with the battery recycling subsidiary of Fortum Corp. (Espoo, Finland), to develop a sustainable value chain for electric vehicle battery recycling, as per Chemweek.

The two companies announced on May 13 the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on developing and optimizing a value chain for the production of high-quality graphite anode material.

Under the terms of the MoU, Fortum Battery Recycling will provide recycled graphite concentrate for use in Vianode’s commercial-scale anode production plant at Heroya, Norway.

The concentrate will be sourced from Fortum’s hydrometallurgical plant at Harjavalta, Finland, utilizing black mass sourced from its pretreatment and mechanical operations in Germany and Finland.

When batteries are manufactured or reach the end of their life, production offcuts or used batteries can be collected, dismantled and shredded to produce black mass. This black mass can then be processed to extract critical metals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese.

The recycling of black mass has become increasingly important as a supplement to the virgin material supply and to reduce the carbon footprint in the battery supply chain.

Vianode claims to operate the world's most sustainable full-scale synthetic anode graphite plant. Production at Heroya started in 2024 and achieved a record-low climate impact of 1.9 kg CO2e/kg of graphite. This equals a more than 90% reduction in emissions compared to conventional production, Vianode said.

According to Vianode, the integration of recycled graphite into its production process will accelerate the development of its low-carbon, high-performance battery materials.

Graphite anode material represents the largest component of lithium-ion batteries by weight, typically accounting for around 70 kg/EV.

"Recycling graphite from end-of-life batteries is vital to reduce dependence on virgin raw materials, lower carbon emissions, and build sustainable supply chains. Access to recycled graphite concentrate with potential to scale volumes over time will support Vianode's ambition to deliver high-quality anode materials with an industry-leading CO2 footprint below 1kg CO2e/kg of graphite by 2030," said Vianode’s chief commercial officer, Stefan Bergold.

Vianode’s stated long-term ambition is to supply advanced battery materials to 3 million EVs per year by 2030.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed spherical graphite with 99.95% carbon content, uncoated with a size of 15 microns, at $1,500/metric ton FOB China and spherical graphite on a CIF Northeast Asia basis at $1,530/metric ton May 14, unchanged day over day and week over week.

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Russia and China are discussing the possibility of emergency mutual assistance in electricity supplies, System Operator CEO and Board Chairman Fyodor Opadchy told Interfax.

"We are discussing that we have concluded emergency mutual assistance agreements with all the countries with whom we are operating parallel. Therefore, we are currently discussing the issue of expanding the agreement on equal operations, thus giving an opportunity to provide emergency assistance, and not just supplies under the contract," Opadchy said.

"This also needs to be provided for in the system of contracts on the part of the Chinese," he noted.

Opadchy specified that volumes be discussed. Opadchy also recalled that currently Russia exports small volumes of electricity to China, and there is no opportunity to boost the volume at this time.

"There is a little export. There is no possibility to increase it further, as we are currently using all available reserves to upgrade generation in the Far East," Opadchy said.

System Operator previously proposed considering the possibility of importing electricity from China.

Russia's electricity exports dropped 17.6% to 8.53 billion kWh in 2024, while imports increased 15.5%, to 1.93 billion kWh, Inter RAO reported earlier. In the first quarter of 2025, Restrictions in the Far East energy system continued, preventing the volumes of electricity exports to China from being restored to the planned levels, Inter RAO said.

Inter RAO, a diversified energy holding that manages assets in Russia, Europe and the CIS the only operator of electricity exports and imports in the Russian Federation.

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