Fertilizer Industry in Australia

  • Total fertilizer consumption in Australia is anywhere between 5-6 million MT all subject to the weather which varies from long dry spells to wet or a combination of both
  • Major product used is granular urea with imports varying from 1.8 million - 2.5 million. Urea consumption has grown significantly over the last 20 years with increased reliance on fertilizer N rather than N fixed by legumes in the pastoral and agricultural industries.
    Major suppliers of granular urea would be Muntajat, Qatar; SABIC, Saudi Arabia; Petronas, Malaysia; with the occasional imports from P.R. China, Indonesia, UAE and Bahrain.
  • Major importers and distributors on the east coast of Australia is Incitec Pivot Limited which would hold the lion share of around 60%; the rest is divided among Wengfu Australia, Koch Nitrogen, AMEROPA Australia, and a couple of new entrants like Swiss Singapore.
  • Incitec Pivot Limited has production assets in DAP/MAP, granular urea, granular Ammonium Sulphate and SSP.
  • Major importers on the west coast is CSBP which holds a market share around 60%. Summit would be around the 25% mark and Nutrien/Landmark plus a few others holding the rest
  • Major crops are wheat, coarse grains, oils seeds and pulses. Australia is a major wheat exporter on the global stage.
  • Other crops of importance are sugar, cotton, grapes for the wine industry, horticulture and vegetables.
  • In summary the fertilizers used in order of volume are: GRANULAR UREA, MAP, SSP, DAP, MOP, UAN, SOA. A combination of these products make up bulk blend NPK which is growing in importance particularly in western Australia