Bolivia produces 347,300 MT of urea in 2023 and remains a vital supplier in the region

This YPFB release was published using machine translation.

Santa Cruz, February 29. 2024 (AN-YPFB).- Bolivian Fiscal Oilfields recorded an approximate production of 347,300 metric tons (MT) in 2023, a volume that allows Bolivia to remain the main supplier of granulated urea in the region, stated Armin Dorgathen Tapia, president from YPFB.

“Previous year's production allows Bolivia to remain the main supplier of granulated urea in the region. Although Argentina and Brazil are fertilizer-producing countries, both markets were the main destinations for the urea produced in our petrochemical complex. Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay also required the product that contributes to food security in Latin America,” said Dorgathen Tapia.

The information was shared during the Final Public Accountability Hearing 2023, recently held in the town of San José de Chiquitos in the department of Santa Cruz, an event that allowed the Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Energy and its entities under supervision to make their institutional management transparent.

The petrochemical complex located in the town of Bulo Bulo in the department of Cochabamba, has one of the best technologies in Latin America, a condition that allows Bolivia to be a country that provides competitive fertilizer to agriculture and contributes to food security in the region. . “Once the domestic market is covered, we just export the surplus fertilizer that is highly valued in the region's consumer markets,” the authority added.

Since its reactivation in September 2021 and with the maintenance carried out in 2023 to guarantee operational continuity, the production of the “Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz” Ammonia and Urea Plant has been more stable than in previous administrations, and as of September 2023 It has been produced at 85% of its installed capacity.

Remember that the petrochemical complex was without production from November 2019 to September 2021, a period in which it restarted operations and gradually increased monthly fertilizer production.

The demand for urea in the region and in the world is growing, as a result of the increase in crops generated by the need to produce food. Between January and December 2023, the “Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz” complex contributed with a production of more than 68,000 metric tons of granulated urea.

Likewise, Bolivian farmers demand greater volumes of urea every year. YPFB urea contributes to increasing the yield of agricultural crops, helps guarantee the food security of the State and generates greater income for the country's agricultural producers.