OCP forms joint venture with Toros Agri

Casablanca — Moroccan phosphate producer and exporter OCP on June 13 announced that it is forming a joint venture with Turkish fertilizer producer Toros Agri to export phosphate fertilizer to Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and Central Asia. State-owned OCP will hold a 70 percent stake in Black Sea Fertilizer Trading Co., with Toros Agri owning 30 percent. “This venture will enable us to serve our clients in this region in a shorter time, from a shorter distance,” said Mhamed Ibnabdeljalil, OCP executive vice president of sales, marketing, and raw materials procurement. “Together with Toros Agri, we aim to leverage our positioning in Turkey and extend our growth to new surrounding markets, while contributing to agricultural development and food security in this region.” Ibnabdeljalil said the jv’s mission will extend beyond trading activities, “as it will serve as a consulting vehicle to the cooperatives and farmer ecosystem in the region by providing them best-in-class agronomical services.” Some of the phosphate exported by the new company will be produced by Toros Agri’s Samsun plant on the Black Sea coast. Acquired by Toros Agri in 2005, the facility has two phosphoric acid plants, one compound production unit, and one DAP plant. “Our cooperation with OCP, which commands an important share of the world’s phosphate exports and is the biggest enterprise of Morocco, goes back a long way,” said Esin Mete, chairwoman of Toros Agri and CEO of its affiliate, Tekfen Agri-Industry Group. “Our goal is to carry our activities on a broader international scale. We especially target growth in the global fertilizer market through regional strategic partnerships. As an initial step, this joint venture with OCP is an important milestone.”