S. Korea vows swift consultations with China over delay of urea exports

South Korea’s trade ministry said Monday it would swiftly consult with the Chinese government over Beijing’s delay of customs procedures for urea exports to Seoul.

Choe Nam-ho, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, told reporters that South Korea confirmed the delay of customs procedures but it was caused by supply strains in China, not a “political background.”

“It was confirmed that there was a delay in customs procedures due to internal strains of urea in China,” Choe said.

Later Monday, the government held a joint meeting involving the trade, finance and foreign ministries to discuss the issue.

After the meeting, officials said they will swiftly make consultations with their Chinese counterparts to help import urea from China, which have already completed customs procedures.

In 2021, South Korea suffered major disruptions to its logistics networks after China restricted its urea exports amid a trade dispute with Australia.

The ministry said South Korea’s inventory of urea is enough to last about three months.

Urea solution is a key fluid used in diesel vehicles to cut emissions.

South Korea imports nearly 90 percent of its urea for diesel vehicles and other industrial purposes from China, though the proportion of Chinese urea for fertilizers came to 17.4 percent.