Nigeria’s fertiliser consumption drops by 560,801MT

Source: The Nation Newspaper

AfricaFertiliser, a provider of fertilizer statistics, has reported that official fertilizer consumption in the country decreased by 560,801MTs, reaching 1,298,505 in the previous year. In 2021, it was 1,859,306.

According to data obtained by The Nation, the breakdown of this quantity reveals that ammonium sulfate consumption was 188,740MTs, Diammonium Phosphate was 118,678MTs, Muriate of Potash was 34,996MTs, and urea was 959,980MTs. In 2021, ammonium sulfate consumption was 182,845MTs, Diammonium Phosphate was 229,588MTs, Muriate of Potash was 142,846MTs, and urea was 303,423MTs.

In November of last year, the total import of fertilizer was 435,661MTs. Official fertilizer imports increased by 65% to 706,922MTs in 2021, compared to 429,303MTs in the previous year.

AfricaFertiliser states that there were restrictions on foreign exchange for fertilizers and a ban on imported NPK 15-15-15 in Nigeria starting in the fourth quarter of 2018, which impacted importation in 2019.

Currently, Nigeria imports raw materials to support the local NPK industry. Furthermore, there were restructuring changes in the modalities of the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI) in 2020, shifting from allocation-based to demand-driven approaches based on fertiliser companies’ capacities and financial abilities.

Samuel Ali, the Senior Fertilizer Market Analyst at AfricaFertiliser, stated last year that the industry had been negatively affected by policy changes in the past due to a lack of reliable data. He noted the progress made towards Nigeria’s goal of achieving self-sufficiency in fertilizer production through government and private sector investments in recent years.

Ali emphasized the availability of reliable information through the AfricaFertiliser website, which provides statistics on imports and consumption. He explained that the increased fertilizer imports referred to raw materials used for local production, such as the Muriate of Potash and Diammonium Phosphate. The rising demand for these raw materials indicates a growing need for local production, ultimately reducing the reliance on imported NPK components.

AfricaFertiliser has initiated the annual Fertilizer Technical Working Group (FTWG) meetings in West Africa, conducting five workshops in Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, and Nigeria. These meetings have seen active participation from key industry players. Additional meetings are scheduled in the coming months in West Africa and East and Southern Africa.