Tunisia's CPG develops recovery plan for phosphate exports to European and Asian markets

TUNISIA TRADE

(TAP) - The Company of Phosphates of Gafsa (French: CPG) will focus on restoring its regular customers on the international market until the end of 2022. It will follow a supply strategy for the benefit of several Asian and European customers.

After more than a decade of suspending the export of Tunisian phosphate to these purchasers, the company is now to seeking to relaunch the export of Tunisian commercial phosphate, through the transit of 300,000 tonnes of phosphate to international markets, a CPG source told TAP.

The CPG will export nearly 50,000 tonnes of commercial phosphates to customers in France, Brazil and Turkey before the end of May, the same source said. Over the past years, Tunisia has lost its regular customers due to a sharp decrease in national production, which has dropped to almost 4 million tonnes against nearly 8 million tonnes in 2010, CPG pointed out.

Tunisia has received several requests from countries such as France, Brazil, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan thanks the high quality of its phosphate, mainly used in agriculture, the CPG underlined, adding that this is "a great opportunity which will help the company’s restore its customers and consequently increase Tunisia’s phosphate exports."

The growing demand for the Tunisian phosphate coincides with the remarkable rise in the prices of phosphates and fertilisers on international markets. “This will help the company readjust its financial balance which has been seriously affected over the recent years," the same source said.