Keywords: Fertilizer supply, Fertilizer demand, Fertilizer balances, Fertilizer trade, Projections.

A large and increasing proportion of the world's production of nitrogen fertilizers is based on natural gas. Therefore, regions with plentiful, low-cost supplies of gas have an advantage over other regions. For many years, the trend has been towards the initial processing of phosphate rock in regions with their own phosphate rock resources. Six countries account for over 87% of world potash ore production. The producers of the basic fertilizer materials are able to respond fairly quickly to perceived or real imbalances in the world market and, while short-term tensions in the market cannot be excluded, a persistent global shortage of any of the fertilizer nutrients seems unlikely.

L. M. Maene, Director General, The International Fertilizer Industry Association, IFA, Paris, France.

19 pages, 4 tables.