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Rabat – The French newspaper Le Monde released a report on Tuesday highlighting Morocco’s use of its phosphate resources to expand influence in new parts of Africa ahead of a vote for the kingdom to be reinstated into the African Union after over 30 years of absence.
OCP, the Moroccan phosphate company in charge of handling the world’s largest reserves of the mineral, has opened subsidiaries in 14 countries to export products to fertilizer producing partners in African states.
By the year 2022, the company will oversee the production of 2.5 million tons of fertilizer, covering the needs of 100 million farmers on the continent.
King Mohammed VI’s most recent triumph in phosphate diplomacy occurred during a tour of Lagos earlier this month. On December 2nd, the monarch signed an agreement with the Dangote Group – owned by the richest man in Africa – to produce $2.5 billion fertilizer in Lekki, a small town neighboring the Nigerian capital.
By 2018, the site’s capacity will increase to one million tons, according to the group’s estimates.
Nigeria will be balancing the exchange of goods by offering natural gas supplied through a brand new pipeline linking Rabat to its new economic and political partner.
Business data from OCP shows that the state-owned company generates just 12 percent of its revenues through dealings on the continent.
As deals with other African states mature, this percentage should rise dramatically – especially as vast amounts of the continent’s arable land enter into agricultural production in the coming years.
