BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 6. The strengthening demand for an additional fleet of railcars to transport mineral fertilizers from Kazakhstan is expected to surge in the next one to two years, according to the information obtained by Trend from Argus analytical agency.
As noted by Argus, this demand will be fueled by increased export shipments and the launch of new production facilities in the Jambyl Region of Kazakhstan. Market participants predict that the primary supply of railcars will come from Kazakhstan and Russia.
Among the news production facilities, Argus noted Eurochem-Karatau, a company operating in the Jambyl region, which aims to launch a phosphorus and complex fertilizer plant by 2025. The plant, built on the basis of the Karatau phosphorite basin, commenced construction last year and will have a capacity of 1 million tons per year. It is expected that shipments of potassium chloride from Russia will be delivered to this new plant. The final products are intended for both the domestic market in Kazakhstan and export destinations, including China, Central and Southeast Asian countries, and the Middle East.
In the same region, Kazphosphate launched its second production line for ammonium phosphate in November 2022. The implementation of this project is going to increase the total capacity of the plant to 1 million tons per year. Argus noted that market participants estimate the actual production to reach 800,000 tons per year in 2023.
Following the expansion of Kazphosphate's facilities, it is anticipated that an additional 650 railcars per month will be required for the transportation of fertilizers destined for export and the domestic market.
