Baja California, Mexico-Mexico is in the process of bringing its Fertinal phosphate processing plant back to operational status. The Baja, California, plant was knocked out of service six years ago by Hurricane Juliette. Production on a test basis was expected to begin during the fourth quarter and should be at nearly full capacity by early 2008, according to AFT’s Jim Fox. AFT will provide Fertinal with the raw materials for its phosphate production, with most of the output to be sold in Mexico. During 2008, the facility was expected to produce between 800,000 and one million mt tons of phosphates. The facility has a capacity to produce about 1.2 million mt of P205 annually. It will produce DAP, MAP, and TSP. AFT, which will supply its raw materials, has arranged three shipments of ammonia from Yara; additional ammonia could be obtained from PEMEX, the Mexican oil company. Phosphate rock will come from the mine at Baja. The plant will consume about 300,000 mt of ammonia and 450,000 mt of sulfur, with the sulfur likely coming from California and Vancouver. The market for the output will be Mexico, Central and South America, and possibly the U. S., Europe, India, and Pakistan. Fox said a new dock has been constructed for export shipments. The plant will be most competitive for customers on the west coast of Central and South America, but Fertinal will be at a $4/mt disadvantage for using the Panama Canal for other deliveries. About 85 percent of its production was expected to be sold in Mexico and Central America. However, Fertinal’s production was not expected to be sufficient to affect prices on the world market.
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