CAN — Calcium Ammonium Nitrate
Specification
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Total nitrogen | 26–29% (typical 27%) |
| Ammonium nitrogen | ~13–14% |
| Nitrate nitrogen | ~13–14% |
| Calcium oxide (CaO) | ~10% |
| Magnesium oxide (MgO) | typically present |
Standard: KS 1900-2:2011 (Kenyan import standard for CAN). Sampling per KS 158:2018.
Origin
Russia, Kazakhstan.
Loadports
Novorossiysk, Poti, Ust-Luga, Vladivostok. Inspector: SGS at Russian/CIS origins; Bureau Veritas at Poti and Ust-Luga.
Volume
10,000–25,000 MT per shipment by sea. 12,500–25,000 MT per month by land.
Delivery Terms
FOB / CFR / CIF Mombasa.
Payment
Buyer's bank issues; seller's bank advises or — where required — confirms. Sarpah is not on the instrument chain.
MT103 prepayment with APG under URDG 758; DLC under UCP 600; SBLC under URDG 758 / ISP98.
Application
CAN is the standard top-dressing fertilizer for cereal crops in Kenya — maize, wheat, sorghum — and the workhorse of NCPB subsidy distribution outside the long-rains planting (DAP) window.
The blended ammonium-plus-nitrate nitrogen profile gives both immediate-release nitrate (rapid plant uptake) and slower-release ammonium (sustained delivery), making CAN particularly suited to top-dressing where the maize plant is established and demanding nitrogen.
The September 2024 NCPB tender called for CAN across 18 offers with bid prices KES 2,875–4,250 per 50-kg bag. Subsidy retail in 2025 settled at KES 2,500.
For acidic soils in central Kenya highlands (Murang'a, Nyeri, Kiambu, Embu, Meru), CAN's calcium content is agronomically valuable as a soil-pH-stabilising input — superior to ammonium sulphate or urea on heavily-leached red soils.
Compliance
- Buyer-side product registration with the Fertilizer & Animal Foodstuffs Board (Cap 345 framework) and KEBS standardisation; the buyer is the importer of record
- KEBS Certificate of Conformity at load port
- Certificate of Origin from origin Chamber of Commerce
- COA, Weight Certificate
- EAC CET: HS 3102.60.00 (CAN). Duty 0%. VAT exempt under Finance Act 2025. IDF 2.5%. RDL 2%
Procurement Profile
| Buyer Type | Volume | Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| NCPB / KNTC subsidy programme | 30,000–80,000 MT per cycle | Top-dressing window |
| FAFB-registered blender | 10,000–25,000 MT per shipment | Recurring |
| Sugar estate top-dressing | 3,000–8,000 MT per quarter | Tilling cycle |
| Coffee / tea estate top-dressing | 1,500–5,000 MT per quarter | Flush cycle |
| EAC re-export | 10,000–25,000 MT per shipment | Subsidy-cadence-driven |