OCP Group SA, Casablanca, has secured government authorization in Spain to create a joint venture with Spanish firm Fertinagro Biotech SL to manufacture and commercialize organic fertilizer for agriculture, Morocco World News reported.
The venture, to be known as Fertinagro OCP Organic Biosolutions, will be held in equal parts by both companies, although OCP already owns a 20% stake in Fertinagro. In addition to manufacturing and commercializing fertilizers, the jv will undertake research and development in the field of organic agriculture, according to the report.
The new company will start with a capital of MAD266 million (approximately $27 million at current exchange rates), with some 40% of this capital coming from the shareholders, according to the report. The remaining 60% will be financed by loans.
Initial turnover is expected to be MAD46.8 million, but is forecast to rise to MAD1 billion by 2029, representing an ambitious annual growth rate of 47%.
Teruel, Spain-based Fertinagro is part of agricultural supply group Térvalis Group, which has subsidiaries in France, Italy, Portugal, Ukraine, Algeria, Mexico, and Argentina.
The new jv is part of OCP’s diversification strategy and its efforts to capitalize on rising fertilizer demand and prices. The Moroccan group was reported just last month to be planning to build a phosphate processing plant in Brazil, according to a Bloomberg report, citing the website of Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply (GM May 13, p. 36).