GCC’s fertiliser industry growing rapidly

The fertiliser industry in the Gulf region is growing twice as fast as the global industry average, led by the increased investments from petrochemical producers, according to the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association, or GPCA.

The GPCA estimates that the GCC’s fertiliser production capacity reached 42.7 million tonnes in 2013, a four per cent increase from the previous year, while the global fertiliser industry grew by just 1.7 per cent in the same period.

Capacity growth was achieved with several multimillion dollar projects in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE coming on stream.

“In 2013, the GCC producers exported 20 million tonnes of fertiliser products to more than 80 countries worldwide,” said Khalifa Al Sowaidi, chairman of the GPCA’s Fertiliser Committee and chief executive officer of the Qatar Fertiliser Company.

“The GCC industry accounted for approximately one-quarter of global urea trade and for 12 per cent of the global ammonia trade volume in 2013. With double digit capacity growth over the last five years, the GCC industry has demonstrated its potential to be a major global player.” abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com