Pink gold
Market Outlook and Technologies for the Potash Industry
Potash production has grown enormously in recent years, but the economic crisis has put a sharp brake on the market. Worldwide there are only 14 companies on this market. Over 55 % of production is marketed and distributed by only two marketing companies. Consequently, prices have remained roughly stable. For the next few years, a considerable increase in capacity is planned and new suppliers will enter the market. This report shows how sales markets and capacities are developing. The machine and plant suppliers are profiting from the momentary boom. A current trend is extraction by the “solution mining” method. Certain technologies such as granulation will also profit more than average.
1 Market Information
The worldwide demand for potash fertilizer is forecast with annual growth rates of 3–5 %. The reasons for this are manifold. First, the world population will grow from the current 6.7 bill. to 9.3 bill. in 2050, which corresponds to a rise of 39 %. Second, increasing prosperity in the up-and-coming countries will ensure a higher demand for animal protein, so that ultimately, despite decreases in agriculturally cultivated land, ever increasing yields will be necessary to safeguard supply. An additional effect is derived from the cultivation of renewable resources, for...
