Top fertilizer producer Morocco could hold key to world's food supply, Kenyan Daily Nation wrote on Monday.
"Morocco has distinct advantage in the production of phosphorus fertilizers. It possesses over 70% of the world’s phosphate rock reserves, from which the phosphorus used in fertilizers is derived," it said.
Morocco has a large fertilizer industry with huge production capacity and international reach. It is one of the world’s top four fertilizer exporters following Russia, China and Canada, the daily noted.
"This makes Morocco a gatekeeper of global food supply chains because all food crops require the element phosphorus to grow. Indeed, so does all plant life. Unlike other finite resources, such as fossil fuels, there is no alternative to phosphorus."
Morocco plans to produce an additional 8.2 million tonnes of phosphorus fertilizer by 2026. Currently, production is at about 12 million tonnes, according to the same source.
About 54% of phosphate fertilizers bought in Africa come from Morocco, the daily wrote, adding that Moroccan fertilizers also account for major domestic market shares in India (50%), Brazil (40%) and Europe (41%).
Morocco could therefore become central to the global fertilizer market and a gatekeeper of the world’s food supply, the newspaper concluded.
