A fertiliser plant in Saudi Arabia

The GCC fertiliser production capacity is likely to reach 38.9 million tonnes this year and poised to hit an estimated 47 million tonnes by 2025 growing at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 7.7 per cent between 2007-2017.

At 46 per cent, Saudi Arabia leads the GCC fertiliser production in 2018, followed by Qatar (25 per cent) and Oman (12 per cent), which has increased its share from 11 per cent in 2017, said a report by the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Associations (GPCA).

According to GPCA, the fertiliser exports in the Gulf region have surged to historic levels of 20.4 million tonnes, up 5.3 per cent in 2017 compared to the previous year as rising market protectionism continues to dominate the international markets.

The figures grew 5.3 per cent year-on-year registering a CAGR of 6 per cent between the 2007-2017 period, stated GPCA, the voice of the chemical industry in the Arabian Gulf region.

Growth in regional fertiliser trade comes in stark contrast to escalating market tensions and changing trade policies between major economic powers such as the US, European Union and China, it added.

The GCC fertiliser industry remains heavily export-oriented, shipping its products to 80 countries from across the globe, with India, Brazil and the US emerging the top three GCC export destinations.

Asia accounted for 55 per cent of total exports in 2017, followed by South America (21 per cent), North America (15 per cent), and Africa (7 per cent).

GPCA said the sales revenues have also been growing at a CAGR of 5.7 per cent between 2010 and 2017, standing at $5.9 billion in 2017, albeit down from a peak of $7.2 billion in 2014 due to a drop in global fertiliser prices. As a key contributor to socio-economic development in the region, the GCC fertiliser industry accounts for 54,900 direct and indirect jobs.