Indian Fertilizer Demand To Rise By 4.5 Percent.

DOHA: India’s long-term demand for fertilizer is expected to rise with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.5 percent, said Dr M P Sukumaran Nair (pictured), Director, Centre for Green Technology and Management, while addressing the Second Annual Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemical Association (GPCA) convention yesterday.

India’s continued dependence on imports is being seen as a welcome gesture especially at a time when the fertilizer market is facing major challenges like volatility due to surplus production by China (formerly a major importer) and global economic downturn.

“The demand for fertilizer is expected to reach at 40.79mmt by 2020 and 63.37mmt by 2030 from the current demand of 26.27mmt. India faces a short fall in the domestic production due to several constraints it has been facing such as low investment, high raw material cost and issues related to pricing, subsidy and environment”, added Dr Nair.

The good news for the GCC countries is that India sources over 50 percent of its imports from the Gulf region. As, due to the above constraints India will continue to remain dependent on imports from the Gulf area or left with way forward like importing intermediates and raw materials from Middle East and or go for domestic joint venture investments with GPCA members.

The second day of the meet featured an international line-up of speakers exploring the diverse issues and challenges affecting the fertilizer industry. However, each of the speakers highlighted their respective regional concerns including Africa, China, Brazil, Russia and India.

The delegates representing Olam International, Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited, China Nitrogen Fertilizer Association and Agroconsult Consultoria and Projetos took part in yesterday’s session.

Following the inaugural day of ‘The Second Annual GPCA Fertilizer Convention’ yesterday at the Ritz-Carlton in Doha, the conference opened on September 20th to a receptive audience from 38 countries including representatives from the Middle East, China, Europe, CIS and the Americas.

Earlier Olam International explored the challenges and potential of the African fertilizer production capacity and market.  Zhang Rong, Secretary-General of the Chinese fertilizer association, CNFA, dealt with how China is handling its rapidly developing nitrogen fertilizer industry as the world’s largest producer and consumer. Fabio Eduardo Meneghi, Market Analyst Partner, speaking on behalf of Agroconsult Consultoria and Projetos addressed the key issue of increasing Brazil’s national fertilizer supply to meet its demands for mass crop production and the necessity to rely long term on nitrogen imports.

The Russian company, SIBUR - Fertilizers, offered a 10 year outlook for the country along with an exploration of the industry dynamics in the Russian Federation and fertilizer producer partners in the Ukraine and Belarus.

Source : thepeninsulaqatar.com