Vikings' descendants fertilise Romanian plains

The largest producer of nitrogen-based fertilisers, Norwegian consortium Norsk Hydro, through its Agri arm, left Romania at the end of 2000, after four years of activity.

Starting with January 1, 2001, Norofert SRL, a Romanian company using both Hydro’s experience and distribution network, has been supplying the market with fertilisers.

Hydro Gas, another Norsk Hydro division that turned into an independent company in 1999, is currently in a joint venture with SNP Petrom.

Florin Popescu, Norofert general manager, used to work with Hydro Romania between 1998-2000 and thinks that the Norwegian consortium’s decision to withdraw from Romania and from all the East European markets came from reasons linked with Norsk Hydro global policy.

“Norofert took over Hydro operations, as the distribution network had been already established, and selected the best. We limited the company’s activity, confining to the available financial resources and to a reasonable profit margin.”

At first sight, it seems a little eccentric to start distributing imported fertilisers in Romania, a country that was among the first states in the world as for the exported fertilisers before 1989, Norofert manager concedes.

However, the company chose this activity as Hydro offers different fertilisers as compared to the products currently used in Romania.

Norsk Hydro produces a wide range of fertilisers, from simple, nitrite-based solid or liquid fertilisers to those containing combinations of nutritious substances.

Fertilisers sold in bulk by Norofert are produced at the Norway- and Netherlands-based Hydro plants and used to be brought from Ukraine and Russia before the company withdrew from Eastern Europe.

After having sold the licence for producing fertilisers in Ukraine and Russia, Hydro headed toward buying some amounts of fertilisers it distributes through its own networks, such as MAP 12.52.0, a fertiliser which was very successful in Romania but is not produced here, Florin Popescu said.

“As for the special fertilisers, we have two Kristalon products, which are soluble in water. Kristalon is a complex fertiliser, a kind of medicine for plants.”

Norofert general manager has decided not to rely on dealers for distribution. “I had this experience when I worked with Hydro Romania and I have to say it was not very pleasant. There is a custom of “payment default” in Romania, meaning that, when people bring the fertiliser bags in their yard, they think they already own them.”

Norofert is currently distributing fertilisers through its own points of delivery in the southern region, through its own sales agents for smaller transactions and through other firms that take the products and sell them together with pesticides and other products.

“These companies are NaturEvo, Ecochem, Chemark Rom. They have their own distribution networks, small warehouses in the country, and sales agents.”