The government will end the hoarding ban notice on urea solution and syringes on the 31st. As supply conditions, which had been unstable following the Middle East war, have entered a stable phase, it was decided to terminate the measures without further extension.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced on the 28th that it will end the "Notice on Prohibition of Hoarding of Catalysts (Urea Solution) and Their Raw Material Urea" and the "Notice on Prohibition of Hoarding of Syringes and Needles," which had been implemented to prevent profiteering-driven hoarding and sales refusal due to the impact of the Middle East war, effective from the 31st. Accordingly, starting from the 1st of next month, the prohibition of hoarding under these notices, as well as special measures such as related reporting and enforcement, will also be terminated.
To prevent market confusion caused by supply instability of urea, a raw material for urea solution, the government implemented the hoarding ban notice starting from March 27. The notice was also implemented for syringes and needles starting from April 14 to prevent market order disruption such as excessive inventory holding and sales refusal.
To date, the government has decided to extend the measures three times since the March notice for urea solution and urea, and twice since the April notice for syringes and needles.
After comprehensively reviewing recent supply and price trends of urea solution and syringes, domestic production and import conditions, and distribution market situations, the government determined that domestic supply conditions are favorable and there is no market disruption behavior. Consequently, it decided to end the temporarily implemented hoarding ban notice without further extension.
Currently, for urea solution and urea, import conditions have improved following China's export quota allocation in May, and domestic inventory is being stably maintained at four to five months' worth. Syringes and needles are also showing a stable supply trend, including an increase in manufacturer inventory since June.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance stated, "Even after the end of the notice, we will continue to monitor supply and price trends of urea solution and syringes through close cooperation with relevant ministries," adding, "If there is a concern that supply instability may recur due to changes in domestic and international supply conditions, we plan to promptly prepare and implement necessary response measures through consultation with relevant ministries."
in ECONOMY
