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Global production constraints likely to keep phosphate fertilizer prices elevated

The CEO of domestic phosphate fertilizer producer Itafos says he expects constraints on global phosphate production to be a long-term issue.

David Delaney says tight sulfur supplies and record prices for the key production ingredient are likely to deter the development of any new phosphate plants.

“They don’t really know where sulfur is going to be in 2027.”  He says, “Does it trend down? Does it go back to historical levels? So, I think anybody thinking about new capacity has to slow that down.”

He tells Brownfield that regulatory burdens and construction costs that run into billions of dollars also mean added global fertilizer production isn’t likely anytime soon.

“I just see phosphate really staying, in a way, globally production constricted for a while just by lack of sulfur or affordability of sulfur.”  He says, “But in the future, who’s going to build? Who is going to build?”

In fact, Delaney says domestic production is expected to decline in the next ten years.

“We know there’s at least one plant shutting down due to the lack of ore here in late ‘20s or early ‘30s,” he says.

Delaney says the supply constraints add up to continued high phosphate fertilizer prices for farmers for the foreseeable future.

AUDIO: David Delaney – Itafos