The price of raw natural gas has reached 2.29 yuan per cubic meter, making it difficult for fertilizer manufacturers in the southwest to survive the tough winter conditions

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Recently, a fertilizer manufacturer in the southwest region told reporters from China Chemical Industry News that the price of natural gas, which is used as raw material for their production, has now reached 2.29 yuan per cubic meter. The heating season is approaching next month, and as is usual, the price of natural gas is expected to rise further. Meanwhile, the market price of urea has dropped to 1,500 yuan per ton. It has become difficult for the company to continue operating, and reducing production will become a reality. 　　Relevant companies told reporters that currently, fertilizer manufacturers all have high inventory levels, while the price of urea has dropped below 1,600 yuan per ton, falling to 1,500 yuan per ton. The cost of raw materials, auxiliary materials, and energy for these enterprises exceeds 1,500 yuan per ton; as a result, there is currently no marginal contribution at all. As a result, fertilizer manufacturers in the southwest were forced to gradually reduce production or even shut down. Because when the product’s selling price is lower than the cost of materials, the more units sold, the greater the losses. 　　“Winter heating will start next month. During the winter heating season, from November 15th of each year to March 15th of the following year, natural gas prices tend to rise as is customary. So under such circumstances, if nothing else changes, we are likely to suspend production in November. It’s already impossible to get by; another increase in natural gas prices next month will only make things worse. ”Some companies said. 　　Data shows that from 2021 to 2025, the average price of natural gas for chemical use in the southwestern region rose from around 1.75 yuan per cubic meter to nearly 2.3 yuan per cubic meter, an increase of 32%. In sharp contrast to this is the continuous decline in fertilizer prices. The ex-factory price of urea has dropped from 2,900 yuan per ton to around 1,500 yuan per ton, and in the southwestern region, the production and sales prices for natural gas-based fertilizer and chemical enterprises are severely inverted. 　　At present, there are over 100 gas-using chemical enterprises in the southwest region, which consume nearly 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year. In 2024, the urea production capacity in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Chongqing was approximately 8.3 million tons. 　　In response, the relevant enterprises once again urge that the Qitou fertilizer manufacturers in the southwest play a vital role in ensuring supply for spring plowing; these chemical enterprises are also an important foundation and support for the industrial sector in the southwest, possessing both strategic value and practical significance. It is hoped that **more attention will be paid to the survival and development of relevant enterprises, and that the natural gas pricing mechanism will be optimized so as to ensure the sustainable development of the natural gas chemical industry chain in the southwest.