The International Fertilizer Association’s annual Global Markets Conference is an in-depth event for those tracking the market. This year’s two-day gathering in London in July lived up to its billing as a meeting of curious minds (Fertilizer International 521, p4).
We profile Ulexandes, a fast-expanding supplier of agricultural boron products with production plants in both Bolivia and Peru.
Tessenderlo Kerley International (TKInt) is a major global supplier of water-soluble sulphate of potash plant nutrition and the leading producer of thiosulphate-based fertilizers. In an exclusive interview, we speak to Nicolas White the company’s Portfolio & Knowledge Director, about recent strategic developments. These include major investments in new production, transshipment and storage capacity, production offtake agreements, and product sales and marketing rights.
The International Fertilizer Association (IFA) recently published its annual medium-term outlook for the fertilizer market. This followed presentations by Laura Cross and Armelle Gruère of IFA’s Market Intelligence Service at the Association’s Annual Conference in Singapore in late May.
The US fertilizer industry, ranked fourth globally in terms of total production capacity, has grown and developed alongside an increasingly sophisticated domestic agricultural sector. The Biden administration has earmarked $900 million for investment in fertilizer assets to boost domestic production capacity and reduce input costs to farmers.
Landus has invested $15 million in a 75,000 square foot fertilizer manufacturing and distribution plant in Boone, Iowa. The project was backed by a $5 million grant from the US Department of Agriculture’s Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP).
The last year has seen the first shipments of low-carbon ‘green’ fertilizers from companies such as Yara, Fertiberia, OCI and Sabic Agri-Nutrients. Partnerships with food manufacturers and retailers are helping to grow this emerging market and drive demand.
Fertiberia’s Puertollano green hydrogen plant was officially inaugurated by Spain’s King Felipe VI in May 2023. The 20MW capacity unit will produce up to 3,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen annually.
In our May/June issue I discussed the race to be the next major green shipping fuel, in which methanol and ammonia both remain significant contenders, but which methanol appeared to be pulling ahead in. But more recently, a few stories from the past few weeks have left me not quite as sure as I was about that. Firstly, there’s the news in our Syngas News section this issue that the FlagshipONE green methanol project in Sweden is being delayed and possibly abandoned, because demand for green methanol for shipping has not actually materialised as fast as was anticipated.
In China, domestic prices are expected to come under significant downward pressure, with seaborne indications already following suit, with buyers said to have rejected offers around the $375/t c.fr mark.