EuroChem launches phosphate fertilizer complex in Brazil

EuroChem has kickstarted operations at its Serra do Salitre phosphate facility in Brazil. The company said in a press release that its new mine and plant complex is capable of producing one million tonnes of phosphate fertilizers a year, which will account for 15% of Brazil’s national output. The facility will also produce one million tonnes of sulfuric acid and 240,000 tonnes of phosphoric acid per annum. EuroChem invested almost $1bn in the project.

According to the company, South America is a key growth market with high demand for EuroChem’s products. The new facility brings EuroChem closer to consumers, allowing it to operate on a ‘mine-to-farm’ basis that will afford Brazilian farmers ready access to high-quality fertilizers.

Brazil is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of food; however, due to insufficient domestic production, it relies on fertilizer imports to meet 85% of its crop nutrient needs. It’s top three suppliers are Russia, China, and Canada.

According to the industrial expert Leonid Khazanov, the Brazilian government has a long-term plan to reduce its dependency on fertilizer imports, and the launch of the EuroChem complex will play an instrumental role in helping it achieving its goal. The Serra do Salitre plant’s operations will significantly lessen this dependency while strengthening economic ties between Russia and Brazil, he says.

EuroChem has been present in Latin America since 2016, following its acquisition of the distribution companies Fertilizantes Tocantins and Fertilizantes Heringer. The company’s extensive distribution network, which includes over 20 divisions, covers around 90% of Brazil’s regions, ensuring reliable access to rapidly growing agricultural markets.

The Group’s primary production capacities are located in Russia. Annually, the company delivers approximately 5.8 million millions of fertilizers and industrial products to Russia and the CIS countries. EuroChem is progressively expanding its Russian capacities for mining and fertilizer production, finalizing strategic investment projects for potassium production at the Usolskiy Potash Complex in the Perm region and the EuroChem-VolgaKaliy enterprise in the Volgograd region, as well as developing a high-tech chemical cluster in Kingisepp, northwest Russia.