Africa Fertilizer Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The African fertilizer market is projected to register a CAGR of 5.1% during the forecast period (2021-2026).

COVID-19 has a direct and negative impact on the value chain of the African fertilizers market. The lockdown in different countries of the region has affected the transportation systems adversely. This has led to the use of the emergency stock of raw materials by manufacturers for continuing production.

Fertilizer consumption is the key to Africa's food security, as it increases agricultural production. The region continues to offer the greatest growth opportunities with respect to fertilizer sales. However, few challenges, such as an uncertain policy environment, limited access to finance, and infrastructural constraints are hampering its growth to a certain extent.

In Africa, opportunities for the fertilizer market’s growth can be materialized if certain aspects, such as improved regional trade cooperation, increased private sector involvement, and improved infrastructure and transportation arrangements, are successfully combined to support the growth the potential of the market.

Key Market Trends

Increasing Food demand and Need for Sustainable Agricultural Development

Africa has the highest population with the largest area of arable land. For instance, the Sub-Saharan Africa region has 13.0% of the world population and has approximately 20.0% of the global agricultural land by area. However, the region faces severe food insecurity, which is primarily attributed to inadequate food production due to a lack of access to modern mechanization and limited use of fertilizers. For instance, according to FAO, the count of undernourished people in Sub-Saharan Africa has risen from 232.0 million in 2017 to 239.0 million in 2018. The governments are consistently implementing various policies for improving agricultural productivity to reduce undernourishment in the region. By focusing on this, governments are partnering with private entities to boost fertilizer production in the region. In 2016, the Ethiopian government partnered with a leading phosphate export firm, OCP, which is 95.0% owned by the Moroccan government, to construct a USD 3.7 billion fertilizer plant for sustainable agricultural development across Africa. In addition, current regional policies favoring domestic fertilizer production in countries like Kenya and Morocco can stimulate market growth during the forecast period.

Increasing Investments in Fertilizer Production

There is an increase in domestic fertilizer production (including potassic fertilizers) in the region due to the investments to develop new fertilizer manufacturing plants. Favorable tax slabs promoting the domestic mining of ammonia and potash have further augmented the investments across various regions. Ethiopia, in recent years, has become a hotspot for the potassic fertilizer market, accompanied by ongoing investments in the country’s fertilizer sector. For instance, in 2017, Yara signed an agreement with the Ethiopian government to develop the Yara Dallol potash mine. The mine production capacity is about 600,000 metric ton of SOP (sulfur of potash) per year, equivalent to 10.0% of global production. Similarly, in 2020, other investments (for example, Dangote is constructing an ammonia urea complex of 2.6 million metric ton in Lagos, Nigeria) are likely to stimulate market growth during the forecast period.

Competitive Landscape

The African fertilizers market is fragmented with the presence of many global and local players in the region. Yara International ASA, Israel Chemicals Ltd, Haifa Group, Groupe OCP, and Omnia Holdings Limited are some of the major players who have their operations in the region. These companies are expanding their presence by building new fertilizer manufacturing plants to boost domestic fertilizer production.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support