Polish fertilizer exports to Ukraine: broad customs codes complicate price comparisons
Claims that Polish urea was exported to Ukraine far below domestic prices rely on an average calculated for the broader CN 3102 nitrogen-fertilizer category. Shipment composition, traders and re-exports mean that this customs value cannot be treated as the sale price of a specific producer or product.
Average customs value prompts controversy
A debate over Polish fertilizer exports to Ukraine has emerged after farmer Hubert Ojdana used Ministry of Development and Technology data to calculate average values for shipments classified under CN 3102. He said these values equated to 1,247 zlotys per tonne in 2024, 1,435 zlotys in 2025 and 1,709 zlotys in 2026, using an exchange rate of 4.3 zlotys per euro. Member of parliament Magdalena Filipek-Sobczak contrasted an average of about 1,700 zlotys per tonne for exports with prices of 3,000-3,500 zlotys reportedly paid by Polish farmers.
The comparison does not establish that identical fertilizer was sold more cheaply abroad. Farmer.pl reported that the 2025 calculation divided an export value of €148 million by a volume of 443,083 tonnes, producing approximately 1,436 zlotys per tonne. However, CN 3102 covers mineral or chemical nitrogen fertilizers as a category rather than urea alone. It includes products such as ammonium nitrate, calcium ammonium nitrate, liquid fertilizers, ammonium sulphate and urea, with different nutrient concentrations and prices.
Ukraine takes a growing share of Polish shipments
Ukraine was the largest foreign destination for fertilizers produced in Poland in January-November 2025, as it had been throughout 2024, according to figures cited by Farmer.pl from Poland's Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics. Shipments reached 722,000 tonnes, representing 25% of Polish export volume. The first 11 months of 2025 exceeded the previous annual high of 703,000 tonnes recorded in 2023.
A ministry response to Filipek-Sobczak's parliamentary question said Poland accounted for approximately 30.8% of Ukraine's fertilizer imports in 2025. Their value was reported at $368.595 million. The value of Ukrainian imports from Poland grew at an average annual rate of 10% from 2021 to 2025 and increased 37% year on year in 2025. Compound fertilizers were also significant: they represented 38.5% of mineral-fertilizer export volume to Ukraine and 51.3% of its value.
Product mix, traders and re-exports matter
Grupa Azoty spokesman Grzegorz Kulik told Farmer.pl that value per tonne is an average across a set of transactions and cannot be equated with the price charged by a particular producer to a particular customer. The company said urea, the most expensive product in the nitrogen-fertilizer basket, accounted for only about 20% of total exports to Ukraine. Grupa Azoty's own share of Polish fertilizer-grade urea exports to Ukraine was below 1%, while its export fertilizer prices for that market in the periods examined were substantially higher than its domestic prices.
The company also said exports supplement domestic sales outside Poland's relatively short application season, allowing continuous plants to use capacity more effectively. Customs records cover shipments from Poland, not exclusively sales by Polish manufacturers. Distributors, international traders and transit operators also participate. Poland imports significant amounts of urea from markets including Egypt and Algeria, and some imported material may subsequently be re-exported to Ukraine. A valid price comparison therefore requires matching the same product specification, nutrient content, delivery terms, transaction period and market participant—not dividing the value and tonnage of the entire CN 3102 category.
