Urea solution restrictions lifted as supply and demand balance

The government will lift restrictions on sales of urea solution as the supply of the essential fluid used in diesel vehicles to cut emissions has been stabilized, the finance ministry said Tuesday.

Korea had struggled to cope with a shortage of urea solution after China imposed export curbs on urea to ease domestic supply bottlenecks. The government has imposed curbs on where and how much of the solution can be sold in a way to ease its shortage.

Those restrictions will be lifted starting Jan. 1, allowing consumers to buy urea solution not just at gas stations but also on online shopping malls and at other stores without a ceiling on the purchase, according to the ministry.

Over the past two weeks, the daily average consumption of urea solution stood at some 600,000 liters but production has been twice as much, the ministry explained.

Imports of urea solution have reached a daily average of around 500,000 liters.

The ministry noted that it is still trying to source additional urea from countries other than China as part of efforts to prevent shortages.

Yonhap