Since the end of 2010, North Africa has been shaken by a succession of riots, causing concern in fertiliser markets as far afield as India which could consider alternative phosphate sources if unrest continues to escalate.
The situation, which was expected to improve during the last few months, remains unstable, bringing concern about phosphate supply from the world’s top producers, Tunisia in particular, and Morocco.
North Africa owns 85% of the world’s known phosphate rock reserves, Morocco being the world’s third leading phosphate producer after China and the USA.
Tunisia, the world’s no.5 phosphate rock producer, has run at an average 30% of production capacity for H1 2011 as a result of the political unrest which has impacted the country since last January.
State-owned Compagnie des Phosphates de Gafsa (CPG), which controls phosphate production in Tunisia, had to cease producing phosphate...