BRISBANE, AAP – Australia has significantly boosted supplies of a diesel exhaust fuel vital to keeping the country’s freight and logistics sectors on track.

After striking up an agreement with the federal government, fertiliser manufacturer Incitec Pivot has increased the local production of AdBlue by 800 per cent to address a domestic shortage.

Energy Minister Angus Taylor said Incitec Pivot can already manufacture more than three million litres of AdBlue – representing around 75 per cent of Australia’s needs – a week.

“While Australia currently has sufficient volumes of AdBlue to meet its needs, this local production will help restore normal national stock levels,” he said in a statement.

Mr Taylor said while a few sites around the country may occasionally be short of AdBlue, he was confident supplies would soon be restored with Incitec Pivot commissioning a 24-hour distribution facility in Brisbane.

 

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The federal government is also working to secure additional international AdBlue supplies.

“To ensure stocks can be replenished across the country, I continue to encourage industry to purchase stocks only when needed and at normal levels,” Mr Taylor said.

Last month Incitec Pivot agreed to help boost manufacturing of a key AdBlue ingredient – urea – when it was revealed Australia only had about seven weeks’ worth left after China restricted exports.

Mr Taylor said on Monday the fertiliser manufacturer would soon begin trialling the production of technical grade urea with an additive sourced from Germany.

“The government response to bring industry together and support additional domestic production has improved the supply situation and we will work with government to review purchase limits in place across the industry as we move forward,” AMPOL managing director and CEO Matt Halliday said.