Wednesday, 23 May 2012
DOHA: The GCC's fertilizer sector is set for major expansions. Over the next four years, the region's urea production would increase to a phenomenal 40 percent, said Abdulwahab Al Sadoun, Gulf Petrochemicals & Chemicals Association (GPCA).
Talking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of 80th International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA) annual conference here yesterday, Abdulwahab said Qatar would be the key enabler behind this expansion plans.
"Currently, Qatar is producing 3.5m tonnes of urea. This will increase to 5m tonnes in 2016. Qatar will be the leader in terms of the volume of urea production", he said. On the supply-demand gap, he said there are several factors that influence the demand. For instance, the crisis in the West has created a slowdown in the market. But we believe the growing population and the stronger economy would be key market drivers in the emerging countries. "We have 7bn inhabitants across the globe. Food security is the central agenda of global development agencies. The global market expects more output from this region."
There is a consistent expansion in the Gulf, particularly in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. The region would be a major contributor to the increase in the projected global production volume.
In terms of diversification, he said the region has started producing two grades of phosphate fertilizers since 2011. The GCC countries have rich phosphate deposits
© The Peninsula 2012
