UREA SHORTAGE HITS SMALL BUSINESSES

[Anchor Lead]

The shortage of urea water solution, also known as diesel exhaust fuel, is sparking concerns of disruptions in logistics operations and public transportation. Small businesses are expected to be hit particularly hard.

[Pkg]

This bus runs more than 200 kilometers a day. Although it's powered by natural gas, some diesel vehicles manufactured after 2014 need urea water solution. The bus needs 50 liters of urea to run for 12 days.

[Soundbite] Choi Jin-gon(Bus driver) : "This bus needs about four liters of urea daily. We're still in operation, but they say urea is out of stock already. It's worrisome."

This tank is large enough to hold five thousand liters of urea, but right now it's only one-fifth full. It was filled with urea borrowed from somewhere else.

[Soundbite] Yoo Jong-kil(Gyeonggi Express) : "We're borrowing urea from other places. We allocate ten liters of urea to each bus to prevent disruptions in operations."

Of some 45,000 buses nationwide, 15,000 need urea. That's one-third of all buses operating in Korea. Some bus companies have enough urea to use for two months, while others only have enough for three days. Small businesses in non-capital regions have no urea in stock. They are in a worse situation because they buy urea from gas stations.

[Soundbite] Chung Sung-chul(Gwangju Jeonnam Bus) : "The problem is more serious at small businesses. They are having a hard time because of the price of urea and low inventories."

Parcel delivery and construction companies are waiting for the government to take measures, as there is nothing else they can do to improve the situation.

[Soundbite] (Delivery company staff) : "We have enough urea to operate delivery trucks for more than a month. But highway trucks are running low on urea, so we're trying to find some."

The Seoul Metropolitan Government says it's implementing emergency measures, as half of the capital's cleaning vehicles need urea to operate.