Rise of panic buying of Urea solution seen as the South Korean government started rationing urea solution and banned its resale.

According to trade ministry, passenger vehicle drivers will be given a purchase limit of 10 litres and commercial vehicle drivers 30 litres, under a set of measures that will be implemented through to the end of the year.

Producers and sellers of the solution are required to report all import, production, sale and inventory data to the government on a daily basis, the ministry said in a statement.

Sales of urea solution are only allowed at gas stations with an exception that urea solution suppliers obtain prior permissions from authorities for "unavoidable reasons."

Diesel car drivers are required to provide their identification and car registration number when purchasing urea solution at gas stations, according to trade ministry.

This all started after China's custom's last month introduced a new export requirement, effectively halting exports in order to boost supplies to the domestic market. Nearly 97% of South Korea's urea imports came from China between January and September, trade ministry said.

South Korea sent a military tanker plane to Australia this week to bring back urgent supplies, and has scrambled to find alternative suppliers.

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