Turkey’s Bagfas forced to halt fertilizers production on 1 August

LONDON (ICIS–The Turkish government has ordered fertilizers producer Bagfas Bandirma Gubre Fabrikalari AS (Bagfas) to halt production on 1 August.

The government imposed the shutdown in relation to environmental permits for waste release from Bagfas’ factory, sources said.

Bagfas has reportedly said it would challenge the enforced shutdown.

The producer had not responded to a request for comment at the time of writing.

A contract partner with Bagfas said: “Bagfas is optimistic to settle the problem. They are thinking of confirming the next [ammonia] vessel.”

Located on the south coast of the Sea of Marmara, the fertilizer major imports and exports a range of fertilizers and acids, including sulphuric and phosphoric acids, triple phosphate (TAP), diammonium phosphate (DAP), NPKs, crystal ammonium sulphate (AS) and calcium ammonium nitrate(CAN).

It also provides the Turkish market with a range of fertilizers.

A large percentage of CAN from Turkey is exported to northwest Europe, which could be a problem if the Turkish producer is forced to halt production.

“If Bagfas manage to sort this problem out, then fine; otherwise [named trader] will be in serious trouble,” commented a major distributor of CAN.

The Sea of Marmara has seen a surge of mucilage, also known as “sea snot”, which is detrimental to the fishing community, sea life, and tourism.

The “sea snot” is caused by rising seawater temperatures due to global warming and pollution in stagnant waters.

Front page picture: Bagfas’ corporate offices in Istanbul
Source: Bagfas