What does CBAM add to a tonne of ammonia in 2026?

Very little in cash, a great deal in paperwork. The importer surrenders certificates for emissions above the 1.522 t CO₂e/t benchmark, and in 2026 pays on 2.5% of that excess: for a gas-based plant at about 2.2 t CO₂ per tonne that is about 0.7 certificates per tonne before the 2.5% factor, so under EUR 2 per tonne at a EUR 80 certificate. The share rises every year to 2034, when the full liability of roughly EUR 55 per tonne at today's certificate price applies. What costs money now is the verified emissions report: without it the default values apply, and they are set high.

Who can import ammonia into the EU?

An authorised CBAM declarant established in the Union, with REACH coverage for the substance through a registrant or an only representative, a receiving terminal that will accept the cargo, and the licences a hazardous refrigerated gas requires at the port. In practice the importers are the nitrogen producers themselves (Yara, OCI, Grupa Azoty, Anwil, Fertiberia) and a few traders with terminal contracts.

Can a cargo discharge at Police?

Only with Grupa Azoty's agreement. Police has Poland's one ammonia terminal, built and operated for the Police plant; the company has said it wants to offer capacity to outside clients but had not built it at the time of writing. A Polish buyer that is not Grupa Azoty needs a written throughput agreement with it before a producer can be asked for a cargo.

Where do Northwest European cargoes load?

Arzew in Algeria, Damietta and Ain Sokhna in Egypt, Point Lisas in Trinidad and the US Gulf terminals. Algeria became the largest seaborne origin in early 2026 as US cargoes fell under CBAM and the 5.5% duty. Every offer names the plant, and the plant's verified emissions report is part of the document set.

Can CBIL also fix the gas carrier?

Yes. Our chartering desk, LaycanDesk, prices fully refrigerated midsize gas carriers for ammonia into Northwest Europe and the Baltic, so a CFR and an FOB figure can be shown side by side once the terminal has accepted the vessel.

Europe · Northwest Europe

Ammonia Suppliers CFR Northwest Europe and Poland under CBAM

Two million tonnes a year of imports, a carbon price at the border, and a short list of terminals

The European Union declared about 2.08 million tonnes of ammonia imports from outside the bloc in 2024, more than a quarter of it from a sanctioned origin, with Algeria, Egypt, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States the other large suppliers. 2026 changed the arithmetic. The carbon border adjustment mechanism entered its definitive period on 1 January 2026 for ammonia (CN 2814 10 00) and the other fertiliser codes, and first-quarter imports fell 42% on the year to 440,000 tonnes by the customs count, with first-half imports down 34% at 1.03 million tonnes; US cargoes, which carry a 5.5% duty as well, fell by more than half, and Algeria became the largest seaborne origin at about 30% of arrivals. Poland, which imports for its own nitrogen plants, declared 56,700 tonnes in 2025 from Algeria at about USD 519 per tonne, Egypt at about USD 417 and Germany by rail, all for Grupa Azoty's complexes. The price basis is the Northwest Europe CFR assessment: Platts put it at USD 905 per tonne at the end of April 2026 and Argus at USD 850 in late June, both well above the Tampa and Middle East FOB markers because European gas keeps the region's own plants at the margin.

The cost of the border adjustment is a calculation, not a tariff. An importer surrenders certificates for the embedded emissions of each tonne above the product benchmark, which the Commission set at 1.522 tonnes of CO₂-equivalent per tonne of ammonia for 2026, and in 2026 pays on only 2.5% of that difference while free allocation to European producers is phased out, rising each year to 2034. The certificate price is the quarterly average of EU emissions allowance auctions, about EUR 75 in the first and second quarters of 2026 and EUR 82 in the third; certificates are sold from February 2027 and surrendered by 30 September of the year after import. A natural-gas ammonia plant without carbon capture emits about 2.2 tonnes of CO₂ per tonne, so the full liability is about 0.7 certificates per tonne, and the producer's verified emissions data decides the number. The importer must be an authorised CBAM declarant, hold REACH coverage for the product through a registrant or an only representative, and present the safety data sheet, the certificate of origin and the verified emissions report with every shipment.

Ammonia discharges only at refrigerated terminals: OCI's Europoort terminal in Rotterdam with two 15,000 tonne tanks and a 60,000 tonne tank in construction, the producers' own berths at Antwerp, Sluiskil, Brunsbüttel, Le Havre and Police, where Grupa Azoty operates Poland's only ammonia terminal for its own plant and has announced, but not built, capacity for outside clients. New open-access terminals at Rotterdam, Vlissingen and Antwerp are in open season or final investment decision and are not yet taking cargoes. A 25,000 to 30,000 tonne parcel is a midsize gas carrier of about 35,000 to 40,000 cubic metres, and it needs the terminal operator's written acceptance of the vessel and the volume before a producer is approached, because the terminal, not the ship, is the constraint. CBIL brokers refrigerated anhydrous ammonia (NH₃ 99.5% minimum, water 0.5% maximum, oil 5 ppm maximum) in 15,000 to 30,000 tonne parcels CFR Rotterdam, Antwerp and Police from producers in Algeria (Arzew), Egypt (Damietta, Ain Sokhna), Trinidad (Point Lisas) and the US Gulf, with SGS or Intertek certification at the load flange, the producer named on the certificate of origin and its verified emissions report in the document set. An importer that states its terminal agreement, its CBAM declarant authorisation and its letter-of-credit bank gets a firm answer; one that cannot is asked for them first.

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The market in figures

EU imports: 2024: about 2.08 Mt · H1 2026: 1.03 Mt (−34%) · Q1 2026: 440,000 t (−42%)
Seaborne origins, Q1 2026: Algeria about 30% · Trinidad · Egypt · US Gulf (−56%, plus 5.5% duty)
Poland imports, 2025: 56,700 t: Algeria 20,100 t at USD 519 · Germany 16,100 t · Egypt 14,900 t at USD 417
Price basis: NW Europe CFR: USD 905/t (30 Apr 2026, Platts) · USD 850/t (22 Jun 2026, Argus)
CBAM, 2026: Benchmark 1.522 t CO₂e/t · 2.5% of the excess payable in 2026 · certificate about EUR 75–82
Terminals: Rotterdam (OCI Europoort, 2 × 15,000 t) · Antwerp · Sluiskil · Brunsbüttel · Le Havre · Police (Grupa Azoty, own use)
Parcel: 15,000–30,000 t · midsize gas carrier 35,000–40,000 m³ · −33 °C fully refrigerated

Landed values are the importing country's declared CIF, not CBIL prices.

Questions buyers ask

What does CBAM add to a tonne of ammonia in 2026?: Very little in cash, a great deal in paperwork. The importer surrenders certificates for emissions above the 1.522 t CO₂e/t benchmark, and in 2026 pays on 2.5% of that excess: for a gas-based plant at about 2.2 t CO₂ per tonne that is about 0.7 certificates per tonne before the 2.5% factor, so under EUR 2 per tonne at a EUR 80 certificate. The share rises every year to 2034, when the full liability of roughly EUR 55 per tonne at today's certificate price applies. What costs money now is the verified emissions report: without it the default values apply, and they are set high.
Who can import ammonia into the EU?: An authorised CBAM declarant established in the Union, with REACH coverage for the substance through a registrant or an only representative, a receiving terminal that will accept the cargo, and the licences a hazardous refrigerated gas requires at the port. In practice the importers are the nitrogen producers themselves (Yara, OCI, Grupa Azoty, Anwil, Fertiberia) and a few traders with terminal contracts.
Can a cargo discharge at Police?: Only with Grupa Azoty's agreement. Police has Poland's one ammonia terminal, built and operated for the Police plant; the company has said it wants to offer capacity to outside clients but had not built it at the time of writing. A Polish buyer that is not Grupa Azoty needs a written throughput agreement with it before a producer can be asked for a cargo.
Where do Northwest European cargoes load?: Arzew in Algeria, Damietta and Ain Sokhna in Egypt, Point Lisas in Trinidad and the US Gulf terminals. Algeria became the largest seaborne origin in early 2026 as US cargoes fell under CBAM and the 5.5% duty. Every offer names the plant, and the plant's verified emissions report is part of the document set.
Can CBIL also fix the gas carrier?: Yes. Our chartering desk, LaycanDesk, prices fully refrigerated midsize gas carriers for ammonia into Northwest Europe and the Baltic, so a CFR and an FOB figure can be shown side by side once the terminal has accepted the vessel.