The Russo-Ukraine crisis driving up demand for Moroccan phosphate around the world

Following the Russo-Ukraine crisis, witnessed Russia’s exports damaged by Western sanctions, global demand for Moroccan phosphate has increased.

After shipments were hampered by Russia’s war in Ukraine, India plans to increase imports of phosphate and its derivatives from Morocco, Canada, and Israel to ensure adequate supplies for the summer season.

India is a major fertilizer importer for the country’s massive peasant sector, which employs over 60% of the country’s workforce and accounts for 15% of the $2.7 trillion economy.
Teresa Cristina, the Brazilian Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply, met with representatives from a number of Arab countries, including Morocco, a few days ago to discuss ways to ensure that her country was supplied with fertilizers that were of great concern to it following the Russian-Ukraine conflict.

Morocco, which is Brazil’s third largest fertilizer provider after Russia and Belarus, along with Qatar, Egypt, and Oman, contributes 26% of the fertilizer imported by the country, which is looking to offset a drop in imports due to the turmoil in Eastern Europe.

In response to the increased global demand, the Sheriff’s Office Phosphate Group plans to increase production by 10% this year to fulfill the increased demand.

“The target is to boost production to 11.9 million tons this year compared to 10.8 million tons last year,” Nada Majdoub, the group’s director of effectiveness, told Reuters, “and plans to add another 3 million tons of annual production capacity in 2023.”

According to the same executive, the company has seen increased demand for its products from India, the Americas, and Africa this year.

Phosphate and its derivatives sales overseas were around 7.7 billion dirhams at the end of January, according to Exchange Office figures, up from 3.4 billion dirhams the previous year.