Bringing the latest trade figures into focus is New AG International’s Editor-in-Chief Luke Hutson.
Continuing the New AG International series looking at the international trade in water-soluble fertilizers, it is the turn of MKP – monopotassium phosphate. This fertilizer is a regular in greenhouse production, and elsewhere is also used as a food preservative and its optical properties mean MKP can be used in laser applications.
With an analysis of 0-52-34, MKP is one of the most highly concentrated solid fertilizers which makes it valuable when transporting over large distances. The fertilizer is relatively easy to ship, nearly always in containers. It is not hygroscopic, nor does it cake easily, so it does not need any special care for storage or handing. As will be discussed, much of the world’s supply is highly concentrated – in other words, concentrated in a small number of countries – and this means that much of the production is exported or shipped to where it is consumed. Using ITC data as our reference, in 2019 some 80 countries reported imports of MKP. As well as being highly concentrated in its nutrient analysis, another notable characteristic is that it has a low salt index (eight, as compared with 100 using sodium nitrate as a reference – see table of characteristics). This makes it suitable for saline water or soil conditions for open-field agriculture. However, MKP has a wide usage under normal soil and soilless of all types of horticultural crops. It produces rather moderate pH solution, so can be used to complete NPK formulae. MKP is also used as a straight application by fertigation and foliar sprays. It has a wide range of non-agricultural applications, being used in animal feed and as a preservative for foods for human consumption. MKP is used as buffering agent. MKP also has technical applications in lasers. Frequency doubling of light can occur using MKP crystals. This is known as a non-linear optical property. One example of this phenomenon is that frequency doubling will convert infrared light – a light invisible to the human eye – into light that is visible. The usefulness of MKP in optics is the ease with which large quality crystals can be grown (D. Eimerl, Ferroelectrics, 1987). MKP market value MKP tends to be the most expensive of all water-soluble phosphates. That is largely a function of its production route (see below). Compared to DAP or MAP which are compounds of nitrogen and phosphorus, MKP combines phosphorus with potash, which will tend to be more expensive than a nitrogen component. In 2019, global imports of MKP totalled 214,064 product tonnes (t), according to ITC data. It should be noted that these are reported volumes by importers. If you take the export figure it is 196,000 t. (See the article on PN and CN for a full explanation on why reported import and export figures nearly always differ.) For this exercise, the import figure is taken. This is what a country says it has imported. If the number for exports is taken, one cannot be certain the reported quantity did arrive at the destination. Often a vessel will make several discharges. The purpose of this exercise is simply to take the imported value figure for 2019, which was US$320,119,000, or $320 million, and divide by the import figure to arrive at an average import value. In this case, we obtain a price per tonne of USD 1,495 /t. This would be a delivered price and the first question to ask is whether this seems reasonable. Industry sources have indicated that this was representative of market levels. It should be remembered that MPK is one of the more expensive fertilizers and that a price of $1,495/t would certainly be above the commodity fertilizer prices in 2019. Looking at the price of potash and DAP in 2019 could however be a little misleading. World Bank figures when averaged for 2019 would give $306/t for DAP, and $256/t for potash. If you took the nutrient price per tonne – 306/46= 6.6 for P2O5, and 226/60 = 3.8 K2O you could extrapolate and derive a theoretical price for MKP as follows: using its analysis of 0-52-34 ((52*6.6)+(34*3.8)= (343+129)=$472/t. But this makes the assumption that those products could be used in production of MKP and as can be seen from later discussion this is not the case, most is phosphoric acid with potassium hydroxide, an expensive raw material. Purists will also note that when you do these calculations using equivalent nutrient prices there needs to be a conversion cost. Indeed, if you take a published delivered phosphoric acid price in 2019 of $590/t (this equates to a nutrient value of $590/72=8.2 and using 52*8.2= $426/t and then add the potash component of 129), you are at $555/t for our theoretical MKP price. Already higher without using a potassium hydroxide price. All we can really say is that the figure of $1,495/t is higher than either of these estimates, and that’s the way we would want it from an analytical point of view. If it were lower, it would suggest there was a problem with the trade figures, either on the volume or value side. But of course, the biggest factor that this rough calculation ignores is the comparative size of these markets. Production of potash was around 66 million t in 2019. Consumption is a little harder to estimate since you have to allow for inventories. But if we take trade as being representative of consumption given so much of production is exported, MKP would be less than one percent of potash consumption, using a theoretical consumption figure based on the import figure of 214,000 t and adding some more for domestic consumption by producers (assumed global consumption of 500,000 t, with a large majority in China, approx. 250,000 t for agriculture from a New AG International contributor.) A price always needs context, and in this context $1,495/t seems reasonable.
Table 1: Characteristics for MKP
Source: NAI 2014
Trade matrix The starting point is always the trade matrix. In a process known as reconciliation you need to compare the totals for what an importer said it imported, against the totals for exporters who said they exported a volume to that country. The importer total for MKP for 2019 was 214,064 t. There were 80 countries that reported more than 50 t of imports. Although slightly down on 2018 (217,000 t) the general trend has been an increase since 2016, which was 188,000 t. Assuming the 2016 number is an accurate reflection of the import
market size, then the 2019 figure indicates the import market has grown with a CAGR of 4.4 percent, which is on the high side for fertilizer CAGRs. The U.S. is the largest importer, topping the table since 2015, with 24,100 t of MKP imports in 2019. Mexico was the second largest importer with 18,300 t in 2019, and has been increasing its volumes steadily from 2015, when it reported MKP imports of 8,300 t. The other countries forming the top five were Netherlands, Thailand and Italy. The top five combined formed 36 percent of total imports (see table 2).
Table 2: Top five importers and top five exporters of MKP in 2019
Source: ITC
Importers One observation of the market is that there are a number of importers with volumes between 4,000-8,000 t. Malaysia reported imports of MKP of around 8,000 t. Spain, Germany, Poland are around 6,000 t imports in 2019. France and Russia would be around 5,000 t. Turkey is just below, and its imports fluctuate between 4,000-6,000 t. Turkey would be expected to have a sizeable volume given the size of its greenhouse sector. One observation would be the growth in imports by UAE from 1,400 t in 2018 to 2,400 t in 2019. This might be a reflection of the increase in greenhouse capacity in the country. Jordan has 3,000-3,500 t imports making it quite a large importer relative to its size. Morocco has shown an increase in volumes (albeit small) from 2016 with 1,100 t reported for 2019. This could be due to an increase in greenhouse sector. A curious one is Azerbaijan, up from 230 t in 2015 to 430 t in 2019. Azerbaijan is another country that has been expanding greenhouse production, often to sell vegetables into the Russian market. Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan also have similar volumes.
Kenya’s imports have ranged between 1,900 t and 2,500 t, reaching the larger figure in 2019. Again, this country has a thriving vegetable export business, and this is likely to account for the volumes. Exporters China is by far the largest exporter. With an estimated 92,000 tonnes in 2019, China formed 43 percent of exports. The value of the trade matrix comes in here. There were 89,000 t of imports registered from importers in 2019 from China, but China itself reported an export figure 130,000 t. When completing the first round of reconciliation, some countries that did not report but were found in Chinese exports were added, increasing the import volume from China to 91,000 t, so slightly higher than the 89,000 t.
But there is still a discrepancy. China said it exported 130,000 t in total. Much of the discrepancy comes from reporting for India. India normally reports imports of 1,000-2,000 t of MKP, whereas China regularly reports exports to India ranging from 19,000 to 25,000 t, and 29,800 t in 2018. The quoted figure of 91,000 t for China could well be higher. Indeed, one source to New AG International has confirmed exports of around 120,000 t. Israel’s exports are not reported, but these are based on importer information. This is also the case for France. This is importer information that report volumes received from France. This could well be Prayon tonnes in Belgium that are exported out through France.
It is therefore difficult to do a meaningful top five when it is so dominated by one supplier. However, it can be seen from Table 2 that these five exporters, and it might only be four if we exclude France as the origin, account for nearly 90 percent of the export volumes. Thailand has around 7,700 t exports, which is curious since it does not have any clearly identifiable capacity. However, these are likely to be re-exports that have come through Laos from China. Mexico also has around 6,400 t of MKP exports. Similar to Thailand, it has no identified capacity, and Fertinal – the large phosphate producer in Mexico – is understood not to produce MKP. Capacity Typical plant sizes are 20,000-50,000 t/y capacity. One producer in China, Guangxi Mingli Chemicals, advertises a capacity of 100,000 t/y MKP, so too Lomon Corporation in China. This is the upper limit for MKP production capacities. For China, in 2014, New AG International was given an MKP capacity figure of 650,000 t with production significantly lower at 250,000 t/y. Another source suggests that production in China in 2019 was around 300,000 t of MKP, and of this, 40 percent is for export and the remainder for the domestic market. This would work with exports of 120,000 t. Here is it worth considering the agricultural and non-agricultural markets in China for MKP. A New AG International source has given a capacity an updated figure of more than one million t with production at 760,000 t. The agricultural grade of MKP production was put at around 400,000 t, which would also work with that export/domestic split. This suggests a sizeable domestic market for non-agricultural MKP in China, presumably for animal feed and preservatives for human food.
Outside China, the main concentration of capacity is Israel (both ICL and Haifa). Haifa has a combined capacity of 50,000 t/y (30,000 t KCL process, and a retained 20,000 t/y of KOH process – see below). ICL said it produced 66,000 t of MKP in its 2019 sustainability report. A combination of Haifa and ICL would work with the export figures that have been derived. The largest European capacity is Prayon in Belgium, with production of around 20,000 t/y, and likely slightly higher capacity. The company says it has capacity of 60,000 t/y for soluble MAP, DAP and MKP. Product from this plant could partly be accountable for exports from France and Germany. In summary so far, it is no wonder then that we see China, Israel and Belgium featuring as the top three exporters. Apart from China, there have not been many new capacity projects in recent years. One of note was an expansion by that of Almaz Fertilizers and its hydrometallurgical plant (GMZ) in Lermontov in the Stavropol, southern Russia and close to the border with Georgia. GMZ has been specializing in the production of water-soluble fertilizers for 50 years, according to the company’s trading partner Cashmere Capital. GMZ’s range of products includes crystalline 100 percent water-soluble monoammonium phosphate (MAP),
diammonium phosphate (DAP), monopotassium phosphate (MKP), potassium sulphate (SOP). According to a press release, GMZ is the only producer of MKP in the CIS. In September 2019, GMZ announced it had completed the modernization of the production of phosphorus-potassium water-soluble fertilizer and feed additive – monopotassium phosphate what allowed to double its production capacity to 1,500 tonnes per month, equating to 18,000 t/y. Production routes The traditional process is reacting technical grade phosphoric acid with potassium hydroxide (KOH). In 2004, Haifa launched its new process based on in-house patented technology that used potassium chloride (KCL) as a raw material. KCL is a lower cost input material than KOH. There is also an acidulated product, known as Pekacid, which is produced by reacting MKP and phosphoric acid. This is an ICL product. PeKacid is highly acidic (pH=2.2), fully soluble P and K formulated for fertigation applications for calcareous soils and/or high bicarbonate content irrigation waters. A so-called “acid in a bag” product, PeKacid replaces the application of technical and agricultural grade phosphoric acid. With an analysis of 0-60-20, PeKacid is a crystalline product, without any nitrogen, and is sodium and chlorine free.
Outlook The lack of new projects suggests there is sufficient capacity for MKP, and it would appear any growth by the import markets can be absorbed by current capacity. The difference between the Chinese capacity and production suggests an over-supply and this would be a risk to any new capacity project that might come onstream elsewhere. However, that is not to say a viable case could not be found for a new project, particularly one that was nearer to greenhouse production centres. Importing from China made sense when container freight was so cheap. But if current levels persist, this might open the door for new capacity. And probably a revamp or addition at an existing site. ●
Foliar applications of MKP has been found to have a potent fungicidal effect against a variety of fungi that attack important crops. Some of the most significant cases are powdery mildew (Leveillula taurica, Oidium mangiferae, Podosphaera leucotricha, Sphaerotheca pannosa, S. fuliginea, Uncinula necator and others) and downy mildew (Pseudo Peronospora cubensis) on bell pepper, apple, grapevine, peach, nectarine, cucumber, squash, musk melon, rose, melon and mango. Maize is protected by MKP against Puccinia sorghi and Exserohilum turcicum. It is integrated, therefore, in normal spraying programs, at 1-1.5 percent, in rotation or tank-mixing with conventional fungicides, as a means to attack these fungi by compounds with a variety of active groups, and by this to slower their resistance development.
The U.S. is the largest importer, topping the table since 2015, with 24,100 t of MKP imports in 2019.
Kenya’s imports have ranged between 1,900 t and 2,500 t, reaching the larger figure in 2019.
China is by far the largest exporter of MKP with volumes at an estimated 120,000 t/y
Maire Tecnimont Group subsidiaries MET Development, Stamicarbon and NextChem are set to build a fertilizer plant in Kenya based on renewable energy.
The fertilizer plant will be located at privately-owned Oserian Two Lakes Industrial Park, which is on the southern banks of Lake Naivasha, 100 kilometres north of Kenya’s capital Nairobi, and near to the geothermal power plants in Olkaria. MET Development signed an agreement with Oserian Development Company, which owns and operates the 7,500-hectare mixed-use area, which includes floriculture, industry, tourism and wildlife conservation in the form of Hell’s Gate National Park.
Maire Tecnimont stated the fertilizer plant will be located near the country’s geothermal energy basin and will be partly powered by solar energy sources produced on site, “displacing the need for fossil fuels – and eliminating carbon from the production.”
There are five geothermal plants in Olkaria, with a combined capacity of 699 MW. The first unit was commissioned in 1981, according to Kenyan power generation company KenGen. “The facility will reduce carbon emission with approximately 100,000 tons of CO2 per annum, compared to a gas-based fertilizer plant,” Maire Tecnimont stated in its 17 May news release. The renewable power-to-fertilizer project is expected to produce 550 metric tonnes/day of calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) and/or NPK. Assuming 330 operational days per year, this would equate to 180,000 metric tonnes/year. Maire Tecnimont says it will be a world first in being a commercial-scale nitrate fertilizer plant run on renewable energy. The plant is projected to consume 70 MW of renewable power and will utilize Stamicarbon’s green ammonia and nitric acid technology. The plant will be modularized, using proven technology, stated Maire Tecnimont. Water electrolysis powered by renewable energy is the basis for what is now referred to as green ammonia. “This eliminates fossil fuels from the process, resulting in a sustainable, carbon-free output,” stated the news release. Small-scale modular fertilizer plants have for some time been spoken about as a solution for Africa and other markets where logistics are a challenge, and a full-scale plant cannot be justified by a relatively small domestic market. For this reason, many full-scale plants are built in the knowledge they have export opportunity and can take advantage of prevailing international prices. Low-cost natural gas is usually the main factor for the location of ammonia plants and downstream nitrogen production. “The project has started preliminary engineering works, and NextChem aims to start the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) by the end of 2021. The goal is to start commercial operation of the plant in 2025, which will be dedicated to local Kenyan agri-business,” the statement said. In terms of reducing fertilizer imports, Maire Tecnimont said the plant would reduce imports by 25 percent, quoting a figure for total imports of around 800,000 tonnes/year. Kenya is the largest single importer of CAN in Africa with around 100,000 tonnes/year. South Africa’s volume can match that in some years, but some of that CAN transits the country and is re-exported. Kenya imports a large volume of DAP and NPKs, with a lower volume of urea and CAN, and small quantities of potash, SOP and MAP. ●
Pursell has reached terms to build a state-of-the-art production facility in Savannah, Georgia (U.S.), that will produce controlled-release fertilizers (CRF) for the turf, ornamental, specialty and broadacre markets.
The new facility, to be located at SeaGate Terminals, will complement Pursell’s existing production plant in Sylacauga, Alabama, with an increase in capacity and improved access to raw materials. The company’s controlled-release technology enables fertilizer retailers to supply nutrient blends that meet the precise needs of a crop as it matures through the growing season. “Built with innovations like custom release longevities, encapsulated micronutrient mixes and the industry’s largest range of coated substrates, our CRF products create a level of control unlike any other on the market today,” said Nick Adamchak, Pursell CEO. “We’re looking forward to serving even more fertilizer retailers through the addition of our Savannah plant.” Pursell fertilizers – including PurKote (for use in turf and ornamental), PurYield (for use in broadacre) and PurForm (for use in specialty) – are coated with a uniquely thin, pliable and durable membrane that enables higher nutrient content, more consistent and predictable release rates, and the flexibility to perform in all climates. Additionally, Pursell technology allows for the inclusion of micronutrients and temperature sensitive additives, such as biologicals, growth enhancers and soil health promoters, to optimize nutrient synchronization and plant uptake. The technology’s innovative ability to help producers increase crop yields while reducing environmental impact to air, land and water led to its recent advancement in the Next Gen Fertilizer Innovations Challenge, a joint partnership and competition from the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Agriculture focused on agricultural sustainability. Adamchak said extensive physical properties testing has demonstrated that Pursell-coated nitrogen and phosphate-based fertilizers are better able to withstand impact and excessive handling that occurs in distribution, handling and application of the fertilizer, mitigating the risk of catastrophic nutrient release. The Savannah plant is expected to be operational by year end, and further Pursell expansion announcements are anticipated soon. ●
Read HERE an exclusive interview with Taylor Pursell of Pursell Agri-Tech in our New AG International e-book: SCRSFs - the next generation of fertilizers and beyond.
Saskatchewan Mining and Minerals Inc (SMMI) is investing $220 million to upgrade its sodium sulphate plant to produce sulphate of potash (SOP) at its facility in Chaplin, Saskatchewan (Canada). Once completed, SMMI says the plant is expected to produce 150,000 t/y to be sold in North American and international markets. “Further expansion is planned to increase SOP tonnes and utilize reserves at Ingebrigt Lake,” stated the company.
SMMI has been producing sodium sulphate at its Chaplin facility for over 70 years. The upgraded facility is expected to be complete by the end of 2023, the company said in an earlier release in March 2021. The Government of Saskatchewan has given its support to the development, which would be new SOP capacity in Canada. Compass Minerals is currently the only SOP producer in Canada, with its 40,000 t/y production unit at Big Quill, Wynyard, Saskatchewan. ●
Russian fertilizer producer Acron is developing a 100,000 t/y granulated calcium nitrate (CN) in Veliky Novgorod, with investments totalling about US$22 million. The group said it expects to start production in 2022. “The feedstock for the new fertilizer will be liquid calcium nitrate, a semi-finished by-product of apatite concentrate processing at the NPK units. The group plans to produce different calcium nitrate brands for both agricultural and industrial needs,” stated the company.
Acron intends to produce agricultural brands for open-field application and water-soluble fertilizers for greenhouse facilities. Currently, Acron does not list any CN products on its website.
There are two stages to the project. Firstly, a purification and preparation unit to treat the liquid calcium nitrate at the existing NPK unit No. 1 will be installed ahead of the transfer to the calcium nitrate unit.
The second stage includes the construction of a granulation unit, designed to use multilayer in-drum granulation technology with a built-in fluidized bed. Other CN capacity in Russia belongs to Uralchem, according to New AG International database.
