Top global producer Qatar's urea export will rise to 5.6mn tonnes next year, representing one-eighth of the world’s traded urea, HE the Minister for Energy and Industry Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada has said.

Qatar will achieve the milestone with the Qafco-6 project coming on line by the year-end, al-Sada said in his inaugural address to the 80th International Fertiliser Industry Association Annual Conference at the Ritz-Carlton yesterday.

“With the inauguration of Qafco-5 last year, we have become the world’s largest single site producer of ammonia and urea. We expect to further enhance this position with Qafco-6 project,” al-Sada said.

Highlighting the importance of the fertiliser industry in ensuring the world’s food security, al-Sada said the GCC countries had a key role to play in this in view of “abundant supplies” of raw material for mineral fertiliser production.

Qatar has made great strides in enhancing fertiliser output through huge expansion at Qafco, which has grown from a modest manufacturer to a giant producer and seller of nitrogenous fertilizes.

“This achievement has become possible because of the wise and visionary leadership of HH the Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani,” al-Sada said.

The global industry accounts for production of about 170mn tonnes of fertiliser nutrients annually. These are used in every corner of the globe to support agricultural production. There is no substitute for plant nutrients and fertilisers as they are the “essential ingredients” in ensuring world food security.

The role of nitrogenous fertilisers in food production will continue to be crucial given the population growth and diminishing arable land.

UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has predicted that food production will need to increase by 70% to feed an additional 2.3bn people by 2050. The world fertiliser industry, along with others in the food production supply chain, are working hard to meet this target and the GCC fertiliser producers will continue to play a very important role in it.

Currently, GCC is responsible for about 16% of the world’s total nitrogen exports, and is also positioned to meet 18% of the world di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) export market.
Besides these nitrogenous and phosphatic nutrients, the GCC contributes another very vital ingredient for the production of fertilisers — sulphur.

Although sulphur is a hydrocarbon industry by-product, it is an essential building block for producing fertiliser, and is in itself a secondary nutrient needed for the growth of plants. With abundant sulphur, the GCC states export an estimated 6.2mn tonnes per year, which accounts for about 18% of the world total.

With the expansion of oil and gas operations, availability of this product in the region is set to increase further, al-Sada said.

Another aspect that supports the mineral fertiliser industry in the GCC region is its “ideal location” vis-à-vis some of the largest importing nations, such as India, which alone accounts for about 20% of the world’s total nutrient trade.

South Asia is the largest export market for GCC nitrogen products followed by Southeast Asia, North America, Africa and Oceania.

Food security, the minister said, is a vital component of national and global security. Securing food sustainability for people has been and still is the major concern for economic and comprehensive development in the world. The process of securing food to respond to the growing needs of the world’s population under global climate change, remains a great concern, and represents one of the main challenges for humanity.

Al-Sada stressed food security is directly linked to the agriculture industry. That’s why efforts have been directed towards the development of close linkages between the industry and agriculture, incorporating the use of technological advancements.

In this context, the fertiliser industry stands as one of the most important industrial bases that serve and develop global agricultural production by enhancing the quality of production, while at the same time increasing the yield.

“It is heartening to note that the global fertiliser industry has progressively developed over the past few decades and has contributed considerably to increase agricultural production worldwide. This highlights the fertiliser industry’s ability to address the current and future global challenges.

“This conference therefore is of vital importance as the current situation of food and nutrition in the world necessitates a collaborative effort to face these challenges.

“Hence, the industry players should adopt a common vision with regard to the near and distant future, a vision that helps develop the fertiliser industry and ensures that it plays a sustainable role that is beneficial for the whole world,” al-Sada said.