Bulk fertiliser exports from Morocco to the rest of Africa are set to increase following disruption in supplies from the Soviet Union and Ukraine, according to Michaël Tanchum, Associate Senior Policy Fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations, and Professor, Universidad de Navarra.Russia is currently the world’s largest fertiliser exporter – accounting for 15.1% of global fertiliser imports.Morocco plans to produce an additional 8.2 million tons of phosphorus fertiliser by 2026. Currently production is at about 12 million tons. Writing in The Conversation, Tanchum says Morocco possesses over 70% of the world’s phosphate rock reserves, from which the phosphorus used in fertilisers is derived. “And 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 could therefore become central to the global fertiliser market and a gatekeeper of the world’s food supply that could offset the attempt to use fertiliser as a weapon,” he writes.Morocco started to mine phosphorous in 1921. During the 1980s and 1990s it began to produce its own fertiliser. The government-owned Office Chérifien des Phosphates has built the world’s largest fertiliser production hub in Jorf Lasfar on Morocco’s Atlantic coast. There is controversy over the source of Moroccan phosphate as much of it is mined in the disputed Western Saharan region Morocco occupied in 1975.Despite condemnation of the occupation from a number of countries, before the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, Chérifien des Phosphates had over 350 clients on five continents. South African importers are among the clients. In 2021, there were four shipments totalling 231 000 tons valued at $57 million, according to the Western Sahara Resource Watch, which was published in 2022. About 54% of phosphate fertilisers bought in Africa come from Morocco. The country has gained market share in Africa through the combination of joint-venture partnerships in local fertiliser production and direct outreach to farmers, according to Tanchum. “It’s also expanded Morocco’s soft power inf luence across the continent. For instance, Morocco supplies over 90% of Nigeria’s annual fertiliser demand,” he states. Moroccan fertilisers also enjoy major domestic market shares in India (50%), Brazil (40%) and Europe (41%). “India and Brazil have reached out to Morocco to fill additional supply gaps,” he states.
