Rabat – A thirty percent decline in fertilizer prices caused a decline in profitability for OCP, the Moroccan national phosphate company, in the first nine months of 2016, according to newly released corporate figures.
From January to September, the company earned MAD 31.9 billion, compared to 37.1 billion in the same period last year – a 14 percent decline year-over-year.
Corporate revenues declined 34 percent in September at MAD 9.17 billion, down from MAD 13.9 billion during the same month last year. Still, profitability between the second and third quarters improved.
North America, Latin America, and other African states have ramped up phosphate exports, challenging Morocco’s market domination. The kingdom’s territories hold 75 percent of the world’s phosphate reserves, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
The state-run “Office Chérifien des Phosphates” (OCP Group) is the world’s leading producer and exporter of phosphates and its derivatives, including phosphorous and agricultural fertilizers.
Earlier this year, OCP launched a subsidiary that focuses on developing Africa-centric products to improve the continents harvests. OCP Africa’s program covers the production, marketing and distribution of phosphate-based products across the continent.
Morocco founded the Adaptation of African Agriculture program (AAA) ahead of the 22nd Convention of the Parties (COP22), which took place in the tourist city of Marrakesh last month.
The AAA prioritizes the improvement of soil management techniques, irrigation control, climate change risk management and capacity-building to leverage the 600 million hectares of uncultivated farmland in Africa, according to the official website.
So far, 25 African countries, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) support the initiative.
