Magazine: 497 Jul-Aug 2020

Market Insight courtesy of Argus Media

The fertilizer industry’s ‘essential’ status is no barrier to bearish pricing, according to Andy Hemphill, senior markets editor for potash at ICIS Fertilizers.

As the rising star in the fast-growing speciality plant nutrients market, smart fertilizer producers are expanding their water-soluble product portfolios. Sana Boulabiar and Matias Navarro , Veolia Water Technologies North America, explain the attraction.

We report on how the fertilizer industry and individual companies are working to mitigate the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

ICL Group’s executive vice president (EVP) Eli Amon has been appointed to lead its newly-created crop nutrition marketing business. He will also continue in his current role as EVP for ICL’s Innovative Ag Solutions division. Mr Amon has been with ICL for 29 years, serving in several executive sales, marketing and logistics roles.

The widespread problem of soil micronutrient deficiency has come under the spotlight in recent years. We look at the range of specialist fertilizer products able to tackle micronutrient deficits in crops and soils.

Demand from horticulture has seen the use of water-soluble phosphates rise globally to almost one million tonnes annually. We assess the market and its growth prospects, identify leading producers and highlight recent product innovations.

The fertilizer market remains a commodity market. The three major nutrients N, P and K, more often than not, are supplied through four main products: urea, diammonium phosphate, monoammonium phosphate (DAP and MAP) and potassium chloride (MOP). Combined world consumption of these long-standing, globally-traded commodities is north of 300 million tonnes annually.

We profile a selection of innovative speciality products and agronomic technologies that have recently been brought to market.

Weir Minerals has the global engineering expertise to tackle the world’s harshest and most extreme mine and quarry environments. These range from Canada’s frozen north to tropical Indonesia and the remote deserts of Chile, Mongolia and Australia. This expertise extends to Florida’s phosphate mining district, where a dedicated multi-disciplinary team is delivering an integrated approach to some tough mining challenges.