The ministry made the decision at an emergency meeting chaired by Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Koo Yun-cheol. But it will ease inventory rules for urea as supply conditions improve.
The measures, which were due to expire at the end of this month, will remain in place from Sept. 1 through Oct. 31 as the government prepares for possible supply disruptions amid lingering uncertainty in the Middle East caused by the conflict between the U.S. and Iran.Under the government's eased inventory rules for urea solution and urea, importers, manufacturers and sellers will be allowed to keep up to 200 percent of their average monthly sales from a year earlier, up from the current 150 percent.
The current rule prohibits companies from holding inventories above 150 percent of their average monthly sales for seven days or longer.
The relaxation comes as China's allocation of about 2 million metric tons of urea export quotas has improved import prospects, with South Korean companies arranging contracts for about 7,000 tons of Chinese urea, equivalent to roughly one month of domestic demand.
Combined public and private urea inventories have also recovered to the equivalent of three to four months of normal demand, according to the ministry.
South Korea relies on urea solution in diesel vehicles to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions, making disruptions in urea imports a potential risk to road freight and other diesel-dependent transport.
Anti-hoarding restrictions on medical syringes and needles will likewise be extended through Oct. 31 amid lingering concerns over supplies of raw materials such as naphtha, although domestic syringe inventories have been recovering since June.
Manufacturers held about 69.54 million syringes in inventory in the second week of August, up from 49.77 million in the first week of May, government data showed.
The government had already relaxed the syringe inventory threshold to 200 percent of average monthly sales and removed sales restrictions on July 24 as supplies stabilized.
The government will separately announce its ninth round of maximum petroleum prices on Friday, with the new ceilings taking effect at midnight Saturday, after considering recent increases in global oil prices and their impact on household costs.
Koo also said the government was preparing a package of measures ahead of the Chuseok holiday including large-scale discounts to help ease food-price pressures following heatwaves and heavy rainfall.
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