The Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA), in its latest report, has revealed that the Gulf’s fertiliser production capacity has grown 102 per cent in the past decade, earning US$6.5bn in revenue
“Rising from relatively humble beginnings, the GCC’s fertiliser industry has seen remarkable growth in the last ten years,” said GPCA secretary general Abdulwahab Al- Sadoun. “This export-oriented industry supplies valuable products to farmers all around the world, improving food security in Asia, India and Europe, and thereby solidifying trade relations between the Arabian Gulf producers and its diverse markets.”
Overall, the GCC production stands at 40.9mn tonnes, said the report. Saudi Arabia leads the region’s production with 17.2mn tonnes. The launch of Safco 5 later this year and Maaden’s Waad Al Shamal phosphates facility could complement the country’s growth in the sector, said Al-Sadoun.
Qatar follows Saudi Arabia with 10.7mn tonnes, Qatar also emerged the largest producer of urea, manufacturing 37 per cent of the entire production capacity in the GCC. Additionally, Qatar Fertiliser Company (QAFCO), operates the largest single site ammonia and urea production plant.
Meanwhile, UAE has emerged the third largest producer, but individually, the country's fertiliser production has gone up by 51 per cent in the last 10 years. Production has risen to five million tonnes.
Looking ahead, the GCC’s fertiliser manufacturers can look into diversifying their product portfolio to include specialty fertilisers, advised the GPCA. To date, only 396,000 tonnes of specialty fertilisers are currently produced in the GCC.
“Specialty fertilisers have unique qualities that define them against urea or diammonium phosphate fertilisers,” explained Al-Sadoun. “It is these innovative characteristics that yield a higher return in the global marketplace and therefore, result in greater returns for the producer.” Among the current set of nations producing fertilisers, UAE has already demonstrated that it can manufacture specialty fertilisers.
