OCP Africa SA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of OCP Group SA, Casablanca, has launched an emergency program to help African countries cope with surging fertilizer prices and shortages, Reuters reported on July 20, citing a senior company executive.
According to the report, the company plans to make 550,000 mt of phosphate fertilizers available to some 20 African countries, 180,000 mt of which will be donated. The balance will be sold at reduced prices.
It is unclear over what timescale the supplies will be delivered.
The African Development Bank said in May that fertilizer prices in Africa had gone up by 300% since the start of the war in Ukraine, and the continent faced a fertilizer shortage of 2 million mt.
The bank also noted the price of wheat had soared in Africa by over 45% since the start of the war, while many African countries already had seen price hikes for bread and other food items.
The bank warned that if the deficit is not made up, “food production in Africa will decline by at least 20% and the continent could lose over $11 billion in food production value.”