Iran Exports 4.3m Tons of Nitrogen Fertilizers p.a.

Iran is now producing enough nitrogen fertilizers to meet all the needs of its agriculture sector, the managing director of Agricultural Support Services Company said.

“About 6 million tons of nitrogen fertilizers are produced in the country every year. Of this amount, 1.7 million tons are destined for local use and the rest is exported,” Yazdan Seif was also quoted as saying by IRNA. 

A public company under the supervision of the Agriculture Ministry, ASSC is responsible for procurement, production and distribution of agricultural inputs in Iran.

According to deputy agriculture minister, Abbas Keshavarz, private producers have a 50% share of the domestic fertilizer market. He said before Hassan Rouhani took office as president in August 2013, Iran used to import 95% of its fertilizers. 

Dublin-based group Research and Market forecasted in 2015 that the Iranian fertilizer market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of over 3.5% during 2015-20 due to the rising need for improving the yield of arable land in the country.

As the Iranian government aims to attain self-sufficiency in the production of staple food crops by 2025, it is anticipated that fertilizer consumption will see a marked increase over the course of the next 5-10 years.

Fertilizers are essential for Iran’s agricultural sector as a major portion of land available for cultivation has poor soil fertility. In addition, due to low precipitation levels, the use of fertilizers becomes a prerequisite to enhance agricultural output.

Owing to abundant natural gas reserves, Iran has several manufacturing facilities engaged in the production of urea and other nitrogen-based fertilizers. However, demand for phosphate and potash fertilizers is mainly met through imports.

Some of the leading players operating in Iran’s fertilizer market include Pardis Petrochemical Company, Kermanshah Petrochemical Company, Khorasan Petrochemical Company, Razi Petrochemical Company and Shiraz Petrochemical Company.