FocusBrazil fertilizer production trails agricultural growth

23 September 2010 22:27  [Source: ICIS news]

By Hellen Berger

SAO PAULO (ICIS)--Recent potash and phosphate discoveries in Brazil are not likely to erase the country’s dependence on fertilizer imports as farm production continues to rise, industry observers said on Thursday.

“The continuous growth of Brazil’s agriculture will tend to increase the need to import fertilizers, despite the most recent [potash and phosphate] findings,” said Renata Marconato, a fertilizer analyst for Sao Paulo-based MB Agro Consulting.

According to the National Fertilizers Association (Anda), Brazil produced 8.4m tonnes of fertilizers in 2009 and imported 11m tonnes, while it exported 423,000 tonnes.

Marconato said Brazil is currently number seven in the global ranking of potash deposits. Canada in number one with 62.6% of reserves and Russia comes in second with 12.5%.

Despite the country’s potash deposits, Anda executive director David Roquetti country’s fertilizer independence is not in the cards for the foreseeable future.

“Apparently, making Brazil independent is not an expectation we can work with in the present,” he said in Portuguese.

Brazil Potash (Potassio do Brasil) recently announced the discovery of a potash deposit in the Amazon Basin that could yield 2m tonnes/year.

The deposit was found next to a 500m tonne reserve owned by Petrobras, which has yet to be developed. According to Marconato, the Petrobras reserve is deeper and excavating it would pose significant environmental problems.

Also, the government of Mato Grosso do Sul recently announced the discovery of a 450m tonne phosphate deposit in the state, but analysts say they had no details on the costs of extraction.

If extraction was viable, the Mato Grosso do Sul deposit could reduce the costs of phosphate for local farmers by 30%, according to reports. Farmers in Mato Grosso use 650,000 tonnes/year of phosphate and all if it comes from outside the state, according to reports.

Mining giant Vale has two potash sites in the state of Sergipe – an 800,000 tonne/year mine and another mine that is expected to produce 1.2m tonnes/year when operations begin in 2016, according to International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA).  

Anda’s Roquetti said: “As Vale enters Brazil as a major fertilizer player, it shows that there is an intention of focusing strongly on the domestic [fertilizer] market.”

However, “it is complicated to speak about import projections and Brazil’s future fertilizer independence without new and official details on Amazon Corp. and Petrobras research in the state of Amazonas,” he added.

Amazon Corp is a subsidiary of Canada’s Brazil Potash Corp, which is focused on developing its potash holdings in Amazonas.

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By: Hellen Berger
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