EuroChem Group AG on March 13 celebrated the opening of its new phosphate fertilizer production facility in Serra do Salitre in Brazil’s southeastern Minas Gerais state. The phosphate mine and plant complex will have an annual production capacity of 1 million mt/y of phosphate fertilizers (GM Feb. 23, p. 1).
EuroChem has invested nearly $1 billion in the project, including the acquisition cost, which it bought from Yara International ASA when the project was 50% complete (GM Aug. 6, 2021). The acquisition deal, which closed in February 2022, was valued at $410 million.
“The launch of our new facility moves us one step closer to our customers and allows us to provide Brazilian farmers with access to the highest quality fertilizers via our well-established distribution network in this important global breadbasket,” said EuroChem Group President Oleg Shiryaev.
According to the company’s Head of South America, Gustavo Horbach, in an interview with Valor International last month, EuroChem’s total volume of fertilizer deliveries in Brazil in 2024 is anticipated to reach 7.5 million mt with the start of operations at the Serra do Salitre production complex.
Brazil’s Agriculture Minister Carlos Fávaro, as cited by Bloomberg, said EuroChem’s new fertilizer plant will represent 15% of the country’s fertilizer market. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said the Russia-Ukraine war has highlighted the need to return to producing fertilizers in Brazil.
EuroChem has been present in Brazil since 2016 and has blending facilities and a wide distribution network. It owns a 79.98% controlling stake in Fertilizantes Heringer SA (GM June 30, 2023) and 100% of Brazilian fertilizer blender and distributor Fertilizantes Tocantins (GM Aug. 21, 2020).