Lotte Fine Chemical, Korea's top urea solution supplier, has fully suspended sales of urea solution on its official stores on Naver and Lotte On. The move comes as online hoarding demand surged amid supply concerns triggered by the Middle East war.
Both Lotte Official Malls Shut Down
According to Lotte Fine Chemical on the 18th, the company's flagship product, 10-liter PET bottles of "Urox," are currently unavailable on both the Naver and Lotte On official malls.
Lotte On had limited purchases to "one unit per 31 days" until last week before ultimately blocking sales altogether. Official mall sales typically account for only 1-2% of total sales, but a recent surge in orders has reportedly delayed even existing order deliveries.
This online concentration is reflected in the numbers. According to data compiled by Danawa on the 16th, urea solution transaction value in March surged 527% from the previous month. Engine oil sales also rose 175% over the same period.
Prices have also skyrocketed. Most urea solution and engine oil sales prices have more than doubled compared to before the Middle East war. As prices climbed, demand shifted noticeably toward products from proven major brands such as GS Caltex, SK Enmove, and S-Oil.
Gas Station Shortages Spread as Government Taps Stockpile
The urea solution shortage is spreading to gas stations as well. As of the 17th, 65 gas stations registered on Opinet were sold out of urea solution, more than triple the 20 recorded on March 25, just a month earlier.
Refilling urea solution at gas stations is still not a major issue overall, but with the number of sold-out stations rising rapidly, some say the situation cannot be taken lightly.
Against this backdrop, Lotte Fine Chemical raised the price of Urox by 100 won per liter for both 10-liter PET and bulk products.
The government has also stepped in. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol presided over a videoconference of the Emergency Economic Task Force from the Korean Embassy in Washington on the 16th (local time), saying, "For vehicle-use urea and urea solution, we will push to release the public stockpile in late April to preemptively respond to some companies' inventory shortages."
The meeting also discussed the navigation situation in the Strait of Hormuz, measures to ensure safe passage of Korean vessels, and supply chain stabilization measures. The IMF's downward revision of this year's global economic growth forecast to 3.1% was also raised.
"We will firmly maintain the emergency economic response system until the end of the war becomes clear, and will actively respond to supply chain and livelihood difficulties," Koo said. "At this moment, the ability to cope with the Middle East war crisis is itself national competitiveness."
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