N. Korea’s largest fertilizer complex no longer operational
Production at North Korea’s largest fertilizer plant, the Hungnam Fertilizer Complex, has halted and its workers have been sent to work on other projects, Daily NK has learned.
“Six months have passed since the Hungnam Fertilizer Complex stopped operations,” a source based in South Hamgyong Province told Daily NK on Friday. “Fertilizer production had been decreasing for several years, due to the lack of electricity and acquiring raw materials. Production stopped entirety in spring.”
Daily NK reported in February of this year that production at the complex was gradually falling.
UN sanctions and the ensuing ban on the import of oil, a key ingredient in chemical fertilizers, may have also been a factor in the factory’s closure, the source added.
FAILING TO MEET DEMAND
North Korea’s fertilizer production is currently meeting only one third of the country’s total demand. North Korea uses a total of 1.55 million tons of chemical fertilizer per year but only produces about 500,000 tons, Daily NK sources said. ......
[Source: Daily NK]
