According to a research report released recently by the US market research company Friedonia Group, the demand for global fertilizer will increase at an average annual rate of 3.8% in the next three years, and the demand will reach 415 million tons by 2013.
According to the report, as the global population grows, demand for food continues to increase, coupled with the continuous reduction in the production of biofuels and arable land, and the need to increase unit yields of arable land, fertilizer demand will continue to expand.
During the global economic downturn, the demand for fertilizers in some countries was affected by the tightening of credit markets. However, since last year, due to the gradual recovery of the global economy, credit policy liberalized fertilizer manufacturers to restart investment. According to the research of the Friedonia Group, the demand for chemical fertilizers in Asia is the highest in the world and will continue to grow at an average annual rate of around 4.2%, reaching to 248.5 million tons by 2013. Demand for fertilizers in North America is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 2.7%, and the demand will reach 55 million tons by 2013; Fertilizer demand growth in Central and South America and Eastern Europe will be slightly higher than the global average growth rate in the next three years. The Friedonia Group stated that the increasing use of fertilizers is due to the fact that more and more people are needed to support the reduction of arable land.
At the same time, global fertilizer production is expected to increase at an average annual rate of 4% by 2013, and production in 2013 is expected to reach 415 million tons. Among them, the fertilizer production in the Asia-Pacific region will increase at an average annual rate of approximately 6.7%, reaching 178.8 million tons by 2013; North American fertilizer production will increase at an average annual rate of approximately 3%, reaching 101.3 million tons by 2013.
Driven by strong demand, new fertilizer projects will continue to emerge in the coming years. At the end of last year, Brazil’s Vale Minerals announced that it plans to invest US$10 billion in Canada in the next five years to expand its potash fertilizer capacity, including a 2.9 million-ton potash fertilizer plant in Saskatchewan, Canada. Melbourne-based BHP Billiton (BHP) Mining Company stated that its potash project in Jansen, Canada, has entered the stage of site preparation and environmental review and is expected to begin production of potash in 2015. The project is designed to have an annual production capacity of about 8 million tons, indicating that BHP will have a 16% share of the global potash fertilizer market.