The Head of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) Yuri Terentyev posted on his Facebook page preliminary findings of the investigation of the Committee. They confirm the position of Public Union "Ukrainian Agri Council" (UAC) on the monopolization of the market of mineral fertilizers in Ukraine.

The statement of the chairman of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine states that the group of companies "Group DF" (which includes the holding OSTCHEM) has signs of monopoly position in the national market of primary sales of nitrogen fertilizers. Also, there are recorded facts that may indicate abuse of a monopoly position.

“The cost of gas is about 70% in the cost of production of ammonium nitrate. This connection between raw materials (gas) and final product (mineral fertilizers) has become the object of abuse by these companies. DF group companies bought gas for the production of fertilizers from related companies, and then resold it within the group, constantly raising the price. When the gas actually arrived at the final fertilizer manufacturer, its price was significantly overestimated, which led to an overestimation of the cost of nitrogen fertilizers,” wrote Yuri Terentyev/

As the head of the Antimonopoly Committee assures, the probable consequences of the case may be not only the imposition of a fine, but also the implementation of the forced division of chemical assets of the group.

UAC welcomes positive developments in this direction. During the last five years, the UAC members tried to attract the attention of the Government, the Antimonopoly Committee and society as a whole to the problem of monopolization of the fertilizer market in Ukraine. We call on the Antimonopoly Committee to intensify its activities and complete the investigation. We hope that the mineral fertilizer market in Ukraine will eventually be demonopolised.