Galvani, the largest producer of phosphate fertilizers in Brazil’s Matopiba region, plans to invest R$3 billion by 2027 to double the capacity of its industrial operation in Bahia, start mining in the state, and build a new factory in Ceará, Valor International reported. Galvani said the move will reduce the region’s reliance on imported fertilizers by 25%.
Valor International reported that the company has already started executing the first stage of the expansion plan, which will require R$700 million in investments. Of this amount, the company will allocate R$400 million to new phosphate mining in Irecê, Bahia, and R$200 million to the Luís Eduardo Magalhães factory, in the same state, Galvani CEO Marcelo Silvestre said.
As a result, production capacity will increase from the current 600,000 mt/y to 1.2 million mt/y by 2026. In 2023, Brazil imported 39 million mt of the 45 million mt of fertilizers it consumed, Valor International reported.
The second stage of the plan involves the project in partnership with state-owned energy company Indústrias Nucleares do Brasil (INB). Through the partnership, the companies plan to explore phosphate and uranium reserves in a deposit in Santa Quitéria, in the state of Ceará. Galvani is still awaiting permits to begin implementing the project, Valor International reported, which could take two to three years.
According to Silvestre, Galvani filed the environmental impact study with Brazil’s environmental protection agency IBAMA in December. The company expects the preliminary and construction permits to be issued by the end of this year. As a result, the complex could begin operating in the third quarter of 2027.