Avoid panic buying Adblue

A global shortage of a compound used in some diesel engines has a company scrambling to make enough to keep trucks moving in New Zealand.

The industry faced a critical shortage of Adblue, which is made with the compound urea, as Christmas 2021 approached. It reduces exhaust emissions and it’s essential for trucks. 

However, some countries that produce urea have now stopped exporting it, which has caused a 400 per cent spike in cost.

Colm Hamrogue, of HW Richardson’s, says there are shortages because countries, such as China and Russia, want to protect their domestic market and so they’re limiting exports of urea for agriculture purposes. 

And then for the product Adblue, it needs to be an automotive grade and that’s in even shorter supply, says Kate Davies, of Ballance Agri-Nutrients, which as scaled up production at its Kapuni plant in Taranaki.

The Ministry of Transport says current supply should be able to keep up with demand if it remains stable. It adds it’s important companies don’t panic buy or stockpile the product unnecessarily to avoid creating an artificial shortage.

Meanwhile, global supplies of diesel itself are dwindling as refiners struggle to keep pace with rapid post-pandemic demand recovery, exacerbating an energy shortage that has already seen gas, coal and crude-oil prices soar.

US and Asian diesel imports, on which Europe relies, have been limited in recent weeks due to higher domestic consumption for manufacturing and road fuel purposes.

Gasoil inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, held in independent storage in Europe’s Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp refining and storage area tumbled last week by 2.5 per cent.