Who imports urea into Thailand?

Licensed importer-distributors and blenders, among them Thai Central Chemical and Chia Tai, who bag straight urea and blend it into NPK for the rice, cassava, sugarcane and plantation trade. There were close to a thousand registered fertiliser manufacturers and about four thousand distributors in 2025, but bulk cargoes are bought by a small number of importers with barge and bagging capacity.

What licence does a Thai importer need?

A fertiliser import licence from the Department of Agriculture under the Fertilizer Act B.E. 2518, and registration of the product unless it is a gazetted standard chemical fertiliser. Each shipment clears with an import notification, commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin and certificate of analysis. The label is in Thai and states the guaranteed nutrient content; a shortfall of more than 10% makes the lot fake fertiliser under the Act.

Where does a urea cargo discharge?

At the Ko Sichang anchorage in the Gulf of Thailand. The ship discharges by grab into river barges alongside, and the barges carry it upriver to the bagging plants. The discharge rate therefore depends on barge availability, and it is written into the offer with the demurrage rate.

Which origins can replace Gulf urea?

Malaysia and Brunei are the short-haul suppliers and sold out quickly in March 2026. Oman loads outside the strait at Sur and Sohar, though much of its output is committed to India. Egypt and Algeria load in the Mediterranean and reach Thailand through the Suez Canal. Each offer names the producer and the load port.

Can CBIL also fix the ship?

Yes. Our chartering desk, LaycanDesk, prices Handysize and Supramax tonnage to Ko Sichang, so a CFR and an FOB figure can be shown side by side.

Southeast Asia · Thailand

Granular Urea Suppliers CFR Thailand (Ko Sichang and Bangkok)

Southeast Asia's largest urea import market, discharged to barge at Ko Sichang for the rice crop

Thailand declared 2,540,800 t of urea imports in 2025 at a landed value of USD 1.09 billion, about USD 428 per tonne, after 2,633,000 t in 2024. Saudi Arabia supplied 42%, Malaysia 17%, Oman 14%, Qatar 11%, Brunei 6%, and Indonesia and Bahrain 3% each. That put 57% of the country's urea behind the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz has been severely restricted since 28 February 2026: loadings inside the Gulf move irregularly and are confirmed cargo by cargo. Thailand has no urea plant of its own. About half of all fertiliser used in the country goes on rice, with sugarcane, rubber, oil palm, cassava and maize behind it, and the main rice planting starts with the south-west monsoon in May, so demand builds from April. National fertiliser stocks fell to 1.12 million t in mid-March 2026, cover to about April; Southeast Asian granular urea traded at USD 650 to 750 per tonne FOB in March against the low USD 400s landed a year earlier, and the retail price of a 50 kg bag rose from about 800 baht to 1,200-1,400 baht. Values eased from June as Chinese exports resumed, and Southeast Asian delivered prices were back near USD 410 per tonne by mid-September.

Almost all bulk fertiliser for Thailand discharges at the Ko Sichang anchorage from ship into river barges, which carry it up the Chao Phraya to bagging and blending plants. Importers hold a licence from the Department of Agriculture under the Fertilizer Act B.E. 2518, and each product is registered and sold under a Thai-language label with its guaranteed analysis; a lot more than 10% short of its guaranteed nutrient is treated in law as fake fertiliser. CBIL brokers granular urea (46% N min, biuret 1% max, moisture 0.5% max, 2-4 mm 90% min) in 25,000 to 50,000 t lots CFR Ko Sichang, loading Sur and Sohar in Oman, the Egyptian Mediterranean ports and Arzew in Algeria, with SGS or Intertek certification at load and the producer named on the certificate of origin. A licensed importer that states its tonnage, laycan, discharge rate into barges and LC-opening bank gets a firm answer; one without them gets a question first.

Need the ship as well? Our chartering desk prices fertilizer bulk freight on LaycanDesk.

The market in figures

Declared imports: 2025: 2,540,800 t, USD 1.09 billion, USD 428/t · 2024: 2,633,000 t
Origins, 2025: Saudi Arabia 42% · Malaysia 17% · Oman 14% · Qatar 11% · Brunei 6% · Indonesia 3% · Bahrain 3%
Share from inside the Gulf: 57% (about 120,000 t a month to replace)
2026 market: Stocks 1.12 Mt at mid-March · FOB Southeast Asia USD 650-750/t in March · retail bag 800 to 1,200-1,400 baht
Discharge: Ko Sichang anchorage, ship to river barge, then bagging plants up the Chao Phraya
Season: Main rice planting from May; buying builds from April

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

Questions buyers ask

Who imports urea into Thailand?: Licensed importer-distributors and blenders, among them Thai Central Chemical and Chia Tai, who bag straight urea and blend it into NPK for the rice, cassava, sugarcane and plantation trade. There were close to a thousand registered fertiliser manufacturers and about four thousand distributors in 2025, but bulk cargoes are bought by a small number of importers with barge and bagging capacity.
What licence does a Thai importer need?: A fertiliser import licence from the Department of Agriculture under the Fertilizer Act B.E. 2518, and registration of the product unless it is a gazetted standard chemical fertiliser. Each shipment clears with an import notification, commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin and certificate of analysis. The label is in Thai and states the guaranteed nutrient content; a shortfall of more than 10% makes the lot fake fertiliser under the Act.
Where does a urea cargo discharge?: At the Ko Sichang anchorage in the Gulf of Thailand. The ship discharges by grab into river barges alongside, and the barges carry it upriver to the bagging plants. The discharge rate therefore depends on barge availability, and it is written into the offer with the demurrage rate.
Which origins can replace Gulf urea?: Malaysia and Brunei are the short-haul suppliers and sold out quickly in March 2026. Oman loads outside the strait at Sur and Sohar, though much of its output is committed to India. Egypt and Algeria load in the Mediterranean and reach Thailand through the Suez Canal. Each offer names the producer and the load port.
Can CBIL also fix the ship?: Yes. Our chartering desk, LaycanDesk, prices Handysize and Supramax tonnage to Ko Sichang, so a CFR and an FOB figure can be shown side by side.