Dubai: The fertiliser industry in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is growing twice as fast as the global industry average due to increased investments from petrochemical producers, according to the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA).
The GCC’s fertiliser production capacity reached 42.7 million tons in 2013, up 4 per cent compared to the previous year, while the global fertiliser industry grew by 1.7 per cent in the same period. Capacity growth was achieved with several multimillion dollar projects in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar coming on-stream.
“In 2013, GCC producers exported 20 million tons of fertiliser products to more than 80 countries worldwide,” said Khalifa Al Suwaidi, chairman of the GPCA’s Fertiliser Committee and CEO of Qatar Fertilizer Company (QAFCO), in a statement. He added that the GCC industry accounted for around a quarter of global urea trade and for 12 per cent of the global ammonia trade volume in 2013.
Even as analysts forecast a slowdown in growth due to the availability of cheaper feedstock elsewhere, particularly due to the shale gas revolution, the GPCA expects the region’s fertiliser capacity to continue to grow at a steady pace.
“Several multibillion dollar projects will be completed in the next years, which will strengthen the GCC’s fertiliser capacity to over 66 million tons by 2018. In addition, the industry will further diversify its products portfolio to ensure its long-term competitiveness and profitability,” stated Abdul Wahab Al Sadoun, secretary-general of the GPCA.
