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Fertilizer International 494 Jan-Feb 2020

31 January 2020

The AFA welcomes you to Cairo

AFA FORUM PREVIEW

The AFA welcomes you to Cairo

The theme of the 26th Arab Fertilizer Association Annual Fertilizer Forum & Exhibition is ‘Reshaping the industry future’. This year’s Forum will be held at the Semiramis Intercontinental, Cairo, 11-13 February 2020. New AFA Secretary General, Raed Soub, provides a preview of what is the Arab region’s showcase annual fertilizer event.

The Arab Fertilizer Association (AFA) is made up of Arab companies and institutions involved in fertilizer production, trade and allied fields. Established in 1975, the AFA’s aims include the development of the Arab fertilizer industry – and maximising its contribution to global food security.

Arabic countries are increasingly taking a lead when it comes to the world-wide supply and trade in fertilizers and associated raw materials. Globally, the Arab region possesses around one-third of gas reserves and 70 percent of phosphate rock reserves, for example.

The AFA promotes the sustainable use of fertilizers and believes this involves taking a long-term approach and making balanced judgments based on social, environmental and economic considerations.

New AFA Secretary General, Raed Soub.

A warm and hospitable Egyptian welcome

Eng. Raed Soub, the AFA’s new Secretary General, is looking forward to welcoming delegates to Egypt in February:

“AFA International Annual Forum is considered the pre-eminent economic fertilizer industry event in the Middle East and Arab region. Attendance is expected to reach 500 participants from more than 30 countries worldwide. They include the chairs of Arab and international fertilizer companies, heads of relevant international associations and organisations, experts, executives and general managers, representing more than 100 companies and industry bodies.

“Accordingly, the Arab Fertilizer Association would like to invite you to participate with more than 400 leaders in the 26th Annual Fertilizer Forum and Exhibition – it is an opportunity that should be seized. Accordingly, note it down and reserve your seat to meet with fertilizer sector decision-makers from the Arab region and the rest of the world.”

Left: Panoramic view of Cairo, Egypt.

Forum programme

The AFA’s Forum programme for 2020 include three days of plenary sessions starting on Tuesday 11th February 2020. This year, the Forum’s main themes include:

  • Fertilizer Policies
  • Factors shaping the fertilizer Industry
  • Global market overview and the supply and demand outlook
  • Oil & gas markets and their impact on fertilizer production
  • Fertilizer awareness and use efficiency
  • The African fertilizer market
  • Fertilizer industry sustainability
  • Helping achieve world food security
  • Fertilizer industry insurance
  • Updates on the dry bulk freight market
  • Latest innovations in water-soluble fertilizers.

Additionally, the wide-ranging commercial exhibition running alongside the Forum allows industry, trade and freight companies, from within and outside the Arab region, to showcase their products and services to a high-level national and international audience of professionals.

Table 1: Arab region fertilizer production and exports, 2017-2018

A growing market share

A natural abundance of a wide-range of raw materials – including natural gas, phosphate rock and potash – has enabled the Arab region to establish itself as a major international fertilizer industry hub. The latest production and export figures reveal how Arab producers have consolidated their leading role in the global production and trade of urea, phosphate rock, phosphoric acid and phosphate products, while also being key players in fertilizer raw materials such as ammonia and sulphur.

Arab fertilizer production is particularly export-oriented and in 2018 the region’s exports accounted for around:

  • 87 percent of world TSP trade
  • 76 percent of world DAP/MAP trade
  • 68 percent of world phosphate rock trade
  • 55 percent of world phosphoric acid trade
  • 42 percent of the world urea trade
  • 25 percent of world ammonia trade
  • 22 percent of world sulphur trade.

Arab countries currently have a 11 percent share of total world ammonia production and a 25 percent share of world ammonia trade. Saudi Arabia is the leading Arab ammonia producer accounting for 27 percent of regional production, followed by Egypt (24%), Qatar (20%), Algeria (8%) and Oman & UAE (7% each). Arab producers exported 4.5 million tonnes of ammonia in 2018. The main ammonia exporter is Saudi Arabia with a 35 percent share of regional exports, followed by Algeria (32%), Egypt (14%), Qatar (12%), Oman (3%), Libya (2%) and Bahrain (1%).

Arab countries have a 15 percent share of total world urea production and a 42 percent share of world trade. Production is concentrated in Egypt with a 25 percent share of regional production followed by Qatar (24%), Saudi Arabia (20%), UAE (9%), Oman (8%) and Bahrain (3%). Urea production is highly export-oriented. Qatar, notably QAFCO, is the leading regional urea exporter. Its urea exports of 5.4 million tonnes in 2018 accounted for 27 percent of total Arab region urea exports. Arab urea producers shipped a total of 20.4 million tonnes in 2018.

Arab phosphate rock producers have a 28 percent share of world production and a 65 percent share of world trade. OCP, Morocco, is the regional leader with a 58 percent slice of total Arab region production. Jordan (13%), Saudi Arabia (12%), Egypt (10%), Tunisia (4%) and Algeria (3%) are also major regional producers. OCP, the world’s largest exporter of phosphate rock, has a 53 percent share of the region’s exports. Jordan, Egypt and Algeria also contribute significantly to phosphate rock exports from the region.

Arab phosphoric acid producers have a 20 percent share of world production and a 55 percent share of world trade. Morocco again predominates in this sector, with a 65 percent share of regional production. The other main regional producers are Saudi Arabia (22%), reflecting the increasing contribution of Ma’aden, as well as Tunisia (9%) and Jordan (6%).

Arab countries also have a sizeable slice of the triple superphosphate (TSP) market, amounting to 71 percent of world production and 87 percent of world trade. OCP is again the market leader, supplying 64 percent of regional TSP output, together with Tunisia and Lebanon (14% each).

In the diammonium phosphate (DAP) market, Arab countries contribute 42 percent to world production and 76 percent to world trade. Morocco’s OCP and Saudi Arabia’s Ma’aden are the leading regional producers (45% each) supplemented by production from Jordan (7%) and Tunisia (3%). Saudi Arabia is emerging as a major player in the world DAP market, being responsible for 33 percent of the Arab regional exports, versus Morocco’s 57 percent share

Jordan’s APC is the sole potash producer in the Arab region, its output accounting for four percent of world production and trade.

Arab countries, especially those in the Gulf, enjoy a high profile in the sulphur sector globally, contributing 18 percent to world production and 22 percent to world trade. The UAE leads the way with a 46 percent share of regional sulphur production, supplemented by sizable output from Saudi Arabia (34%) and Qatar and Kuwait (9% each). Much of the region’s sulphur output is exported.

Investments in new capacity

New capacity continues to be developed throughout the Arab region, enhancing the contribution Arab countries make to global fertilizer capacity and supply. Looking to the future, by 2025, additional production capacity in Arab countries will undoubtedly raise the region’s contribution to world fertilizer production and trade even further.

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