Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi fertilizer production represents 44% of the GCC’s manufacturing portfolio, according to a report by the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA).
Annual fertilizer production capacity reaches 16.7 million tonnes, represents a capacity expansion of 51% over the last decade, driven by strong demand from export markets, GPCA’s 2015 Fertilizer Indicators report said.
“Saudi Arabia has led the Arabian Gulf in terms of production capacity of fertilizer capacity and trade,” Abdulwahab Al Sadoun, GPCA secretary general, said.
The Kingdom added 9.6 million tonnes of new fertilizer capacity over the last decade, which was accompanied by a diversification of the industry’s product portfolio.
At present, Saudi Arabia’s fertilizer products portfolio consists of ammonia (26%), urea (28%), and diammonium phosphate (DAP)/MAP (22%), the report said.
The report noted that there is a trend to include other fertilizer varieties by 2017, with the development of the $8 billion Ma’aden Wa’ad Al-Shamal Phosphate Company, which will expand the volume of phosphate-based fertilizers.
The Kingdom’s reserves are estimated at around 956 million tonnes of phosphate rock in a number of discrete deposits; as it hosts one of the largest known but undeveloped phosphate rock deposits in the world.
“However, since worldwide demand for fertilizers has been relatively flat, producers must find strategies to remain competitive in an increasingly globalized and dynamic marketplace,” Al-Sadoun added.
