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10 Top Phosphate Countries by Production

Phosphate demand is rising alongside the growth in agricultural demand inherent in an expanding global population. Find out which top phosphate producing countries are supplying this demand.
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The top phosphate countries by production mainly produce fertilizer for crops and animal feed supplements. Only 5 percent of world production of agricultural resources phosphate and potash is used in other applications, which include construction, soaps and detergents.

According to the US Geological Survey’s (USGS) most recent mineral commodities report, the top phosphate countries by production saw global output shrink in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic alongside rising phosphate prices.

The USGS notes that world consumption of phosphate fertilizers is projected to increase slightly from 47 million metric tons (MT) of the nutrient-rich rock in 2020 to 49 million MT in 2024. Asia and South America will account for the majority of that growth in phosphate demand.

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To match demand, global phosphate mine capacity is expected to increase from 238 million MT in 2020 to 261 million MT in 2024. Most of that phosphate production capacity increase will be attributable to in-progress and planned major expansion projects in Africa and the Middle East

In 2020, global phosphate production totaled 223 million MT, down from 227 million MT in 2019.

Those interested in the phosphate-mining sector will want to keep an eye on phosphate production and mining companies in the sector. Below are 2020’s top phosphate countries by production.

1. China

Mine production: 90 million MT

China’s phosphate-mining production decreased in 2020 to 90 million MT from 95 million MT in 2019, but it is still first on the list of top phosphate production by country. The drop in Chinese output is likely a result of the nation’s environmental crackdown on the mining industry in addition to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Looking further back, there has been speculation that China’s phosphate production in 2017 may have been overstated. According to industry analysts, the country produced just 85 million MT in 2017 instead of the 144 million MT reported by the government. For its 2020 estimate, the US Geological Survey used information from large mines only, as reported by the National Bureau of Statistics of China.

The country also has the second largest phosphate reserves in the world, with 3.2 billion MT stored. The future of Chinese production remains a concern as the country’s mining and processing industry deals with environmental compliance fees, higher production costs and shutdowns due to water pollution and other environmental concerns.

2. Morocco and Western Sahara

Mine production: 37 million MT

Despite producing significantly less than China in 2020, Morocco and Western Sahara have the largest phosphate reserves. With 50 billion MT stockpiled, the region’s phosphate reserves account for over 70 percent of the global number. Together they produced 37 million MT of phosphate in 2020.

Western Sahara is disputed territory between Morocco and the Polisario political movement. In 2017, a European court ruled that Western Sahara should not be considered part of Morocco in European Union and Moroccan deals. Morocco’s Office Cherifien de Phosphate mines phosphate in the Moroccan-held part of Western Sahara, and that has led to disruptions in phosphate shipments in the past.

3. United States

Mine production: 24 million MT

In 2020, US phosphate mining ticked up slightly by .7 million MT from the previous year. The top phosphate-producing states, Florida and North Carolina, accounted for over 75 percent of domestic output. The other 25 percent of US production came from Southeast Idaho and Utah.

The majority of the phosphate rock mined in the US is used for manufacturing phosphoric acid and superphosphoric acid. These types of wet-process phosphate products are used for products such as animal feed supplements. About half of this type of phosphate is exported in the form of merchant-grade phosphoric acid, granular diammonium and monoammonium phosphate fertilizer.

4. Russia

Mine production: 13 million MT

Russia’s phosphate output dropped by 1 million MT in 2020 from the previous year, coming in at 14 million MT. As per the USGS, the country has 600 million MT of phosphate in reserve.

Health concerns over cadmium, which is a heavy metal and a carcinogen, could be creating further opportunities for the phosphate-mining industry in the country. Fertilizer requirements out of the European Union have put limits on the amount of cadmium residue permitted in phosphate imports.

The proposition prompted Polish MEP Tomasz Wlostowski to say, “The limits will only benefit Russian producers, which have monopolized low-cadmium apatite phosphate deposits and which already dominate the EU fertilizer market.”

5. Jordan

Mine production: 9.2 million MT

Jordan’s phosphate-mining output remained stable coming in at 9.2 million MT in 2020. Its phosphate reserves stand at an estimated 800 million MT.

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The country’s sole state-owned phosphate producer, Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (JPMC), signed six new agreements with Indian firms in February 2018. The agreements and memorandums of understanding will allow JPMC to export 3 million MT of phosphate to India between 2018 and 2022.

Another Jordan-focused producer is Arab Potash Company, a privately owned company in which China’s SDIC holds a stake.

6. Saudi Arabia

Mine production: 6.5 million MT

Saudi Arabia produced 6.5 million MT of phosphate last year, the same as 2019’s output. The country is sitting on 1.4 billion MT of phosphate reserves.

The Saudi Arabian Mining Company, also known as Ma’aden, operates the largest phosphate-mining facility in the world. The Wa’ad Al Shamal Minerals Industrial City, an integrated phosphate fertilizer production complex, is a US$8 billion joint venture investment between Ma’aden (60 percent), chemical manufacturer SABIC (15 percent) and the US’ largest potash and phosphate producer, the Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) (25 percent).

The company has been working with Fluor (NYSE:FLR) on the Waad al-Shamal facility, with Fluor providing project management consulting to further develop the project. Production of merchant-grade acid and fertilizer commenced as of August 2017.

7. Brazil

Mine production: 5.5 million MT

Brazil, another of the top phosphate countries by production, produced 5.5 million MT of phosphate in 2020 compared to 4.7 million MT in 2019, jumping one spot to number seven on the list. Brazil has a booming agricultural sector and is the fifth largest fertilizer consumer; demand in the country is expected to grow twice as fast as the rest of the world from now until 2025.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) is the country’s largest producer of phosphate and nitrogen. The company also operates the country’s only potash mine.

8. Egypt

Mine production: 5 million MT

Egypt’s phosphate-mining production in 2020 remained unchanged from 2019 output levels. According to the USGS, Egypt’s phosphate reserves now sit at 2.8 billion MT. More of those reserves may get dug up in the future as the country builds a new phosphate industrial zone in Aswan. It will also expand the Safaga Port.

9. Vietnam

Mine production: 4.7 million MT

Vietnam produced 4.7 million MT of phosphate in 2020 to drop two positions from the 7th spot on the list in 2019. Vietnam has a stockpile of 30 million MT of phosphate reserves.

The environmental impact of mining has been an ongoing issue in the Vietnamese mining industry, with concerns over coal and bauxite dominating the discussion.

10. Tunisia

Mine production: 4 million MT

Tunisia made it back on the list of top phosphate countries by production 2020 with 4 million MT, making its way back to the top 10 list after falling off it in 2018. The phosphate industry is a critical component of the North African nation’s economy. In late 2020, strikes and protests curtailed phosphate production at a key operation in the country.

Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time news updates!

Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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Analyst reviews Apple stock price target amid challenges

Here’s what could happen to Apple shares next.

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They said it was bound to happen.

It was Jan. 11, 2024 when software giant Microsoft  (MSFT)  briefly passed Apple  (AAPL)  as the most valuable company in the world.

Microsoft's stock closed 0.5% higher, giving it a market valuation of $2.859 trillion. 

It rose as much as 2% during the session and the company was briefly worth $2.903 trillion. Apple closed 0.3% lower, giving the company a market capitalization of $2.886 trillion. 

"It was inevitable that Microsoft would overtake Apple since Microsoft is growing faster and has more to benefit from the generative AI revolution," D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria said at the time, according to Reuters.

The two tech titans have jostled for top spot over the years and Microsoft was ahead at last check, with a market cap of $3.085 trillion, compared with Apple's value of $2.684 trillion.

Analysts noted that Apple had been dealing with weakening demand, including for the iPhone, the company’s main source of revenue. 

Demand in China, a major market, has slumped as the country's economy makes a slow recovery from the pandemic and competition from Huawei.

Sales in China of Apple's iPhone fell by 24% in the first six weeks of 2024 compared with a year earlier, according to research firm Counterpoint, as the company contended with stiff competition from a resurgent Huawei "while getting squeezed in the middle on aggressive pricing from the likes of OPPO, vivo and Xiaomi," said senior Analyst Mengmeng Zhang.

“Although the iPhone 15 is a great device, it has no significant upgrades from the previous version, so consumers feel fine holding on to the older-generation iPhones for now," he said.

A man scrolling through Netflix on an Apple iPad Pro. Photo by Phil Barker/Future Publishing via Getty Images.

Future Publishing/Getty Images

Big plans for China

Counterpoint said that the first six weeks of 2023 saw abnormally high numbers with significant unit sales being deferred from December 2022 due to production issues.

Apple is planning to open its eighth store in Shanghai – and its 47th across China – on March 21.

Related: Tech News Now: OpenAI says Musk contract 'never existed', Xiaomi's EV, and more

The company also plans to expand its research centre in Shanghai to support all of its product lines and open a new lab in southern tech hub Shenzhen later this year, according to the South China Morning Post.

Meanwhile, over in Europe, Apple announced changes to comply with the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA), which went into effect last week, Reuters reported on March 12.

Beginning this spring, software developers operating in Europe will be able to distribute apps to EU customers directly from their own websites instead of through the App Store.

"To reflect the DMA’s changes, users in the EU can install apps from alternative app marketplaces in iOS 17.4 and later," Apple said on its website, referring to the software platform that runs iPhones and iPads. 

"Users will be able to download an alternative marketplace app from the marketplace developer’s website," the company said.

Apple has also said it will appeal a $2 billion EU antitrust fine for thwarting competition from Spotify  (SPOT)  and other music streaming rivals via restrictions on the App Store.

The company's shares have suffered amid all this upheaval, but some analysts still see good things in Apple's future.

Bank of America Securities confirmed its positive stance on Apple, maintaining a buy rating with a steady price target of $225, according to Investing.com

The firm's analysis highlighted Apple's pricing strategy evolution since the introduction of the first iPhone in 2007, with initial prices set at $499 for the 4GB model and $599 for the 8GB model.

BofA said that Apple has consistently launched new iPhone models, including the Pro/Pro Max versions, to target the premium market. 

Analyst says Apple selloff 'overdone'

Concurrently, prices for previous models are typically reduced by about $100 with each new release. 

This strategy, coupled with installment plans from Apple and carriers, has contributed to the iPhone's installed base reaching a record 1.2 billion in 2023, the firm said.

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Apple has effectively shifted its sales mix toward higher-value units despite experiencing slower unit sales, BofA said.

This trend is expected to persist and could help mitigate potential unit sales weaknesses, particularly in China. 

BofA also noted Apple's dominance in the high-end market, maintaining a market share of over 90% in the $1,000 and above price band for the past three years.

The firm also cited the anticipation of a multi-year iPhone cycle propelled by next-generation AI technology, robust services growth, and the potential for margin expansion.

On Monday, Evercore ISI analysts said they believed that the sell-off in the iPhone maker’s shares may be “overdone.”

The firm said that investors' growing preference for AI-focused stocks like Nvidia  (NVDA)  has led to a reallocation of funds away from Apple. 

In addition, Evercore said concerns over weakening demand in China, where Apple may be losing market share in the smartphone segment, have affected investor sentiment.

And then ongoing regulatory issues continue to have an impact on investor confidence in the world's second-biggest company.

“We think the sell-off is rather overdone, while we suspect there is strong valuation support at current levels to down 10%, there are three distinct drivers that could unlock upside on the stock from here – a) Cap allocation, b) AI inferencing, and c) Risk-off/defensive shift," the firm said in a research note.

Related: Veteran fund manager picks favorite stocks for 2024

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Major typhoid fever surveillance study in sub-Saharan Africa indicates need for the introduction of typhoid conjugate vaccines in endemic countries

There is a high burden of typhoid fever in sub-Saharan African countries, according to a new study published today in The Lancet Global Health. This high…

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There is a high burden of typhoid fever in sub-Saharan African countries, according to a new study published today in The Lancet Global Health. This high burden combined with the threat of typhoid strains resistant to antibiotic treatment calls for stronger prevention strategies, including the use and implementation of typhoid conjugate vaccines (TCVs) in endemic settings along with improvements in access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene.

Credit: IVI

There is a high burden of typhoid fever in sub-Saharan African countries, according to a new study published today in The Lancet Global Health. This high burden combined with the threat of typhoid strains resistant to antibiotic treatment calls for stronger prevention strategies, including the use and implementation of typhoid conjugate vaccines (TCVs) in endemic settings along with improvements in access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene.

 

The findings from this 4-year study, the Severe Typhoid in Africa (SETA) program, offers new typhoid fever burden estimates from six countries: Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, and Nigeria, with four countries recording more than 100 cases for every 100,000 person-years of observation, which is considered a high burden. The highest incidence of typhoid was found in DRC with 315 cases per 100,000 people while children between 2-14 years of age were shown to be at highest risk across all 25 study sites.

 

There are an estimated 12.5 to 16.3 million cases of typhoid every year with 140,000 deaths. However, with generic symptoms such as fever, fatigue, and abdominal pain, and the need for blood culture sampling to make a definitive diagnosis, it is difficult for governments to capture the true burden of typhoid in their countries.

 

“Our goal through SETA was to address these gaps in typhoid disease burden data,” said lead author Dr. Florian Marks, Deputy Director General of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI). “Our estimates indicate that introduction of TCV in endemic settings would go to lengths in protecting communities, especially school-aged children, against this potentially deadly—but preventable—disease.”

 

In addition to disease incidence, this study also showed that the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Salmonella Typhi, the bacteria that causes typhoid fever, has led to more reliance beyond the traditional first line of antibiotic treatment. If left untreated, severe cases of the disease can lead to intestinal perforation and even death. This suggests that prevention through vaccination may play a critical role in not only protecting against typhoid fever but reducing the spread of drug-resistant strains of the bacteria.

 

There are two TCVs prequalified by the World Health Organization (WHO) and available through Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. In February 2024, IVI and SK bioscience announced that a third TCV, SKYTyphoid™, also achieved WHO PQ, paving the way for public procurement and increasing the global supply.

 

Alongside the SETA disease burden study, IVI has been working with colleagues in three African countries to show the real-world impact of TCV vaccination. These studies include a cluster-randomized trial in Agogo, Ghana and two effectiveness studies following mass vaccination in Kisantu, DRC and Imerintsiatosika, Madagascar.

 

Dr. Birkneh Tilahun Tadesse, Associate Director General at IVI and Head of the Real-World Evidence Department, explains, “Through these vaccine effectiveness studies, we aim to show the full public health value of TCV in settings that are directly impacted by a high burden of typhoid fever.” He adds, “Our final objective of course is to eliminate typhoid or to at least reduce the burden to low incidence levels, and that’s what we are attempting in Fiji with an island-wide vaccination campaign.”

 

As more countries in typhoid endemic countries, namely in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, consider TCV in national immunization programs, these data will help inform evidence-based policy decisions around typhoid prevention and control.

 

###

 

About the International Vaccine Institute (IVI)
The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) is a non-profit international organization established in 1997 at the initiative of the United Nations Development Programme with a mission to discover, develop, and deliver safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for global health.

IVI’s current portfolio includes vaccines at all stages of pre-clinical and clinical development for infectious diseases that disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries, such as cholera, typhoid, chikungunya, shigella, salmonella, schistosomiasis, hepatitis E, HPV, COVID-19, and more. IVI developed the world’s first low-cost oral cholera vaccine, pre-qualified by the World Health Organization (WHO) and developed a new-generation typhoid conjugate vaccine that is recently pre-qualified by WHO.

IVI is headquartered in Seoul, Republic of Korea with a Europe Regional Office in Sweden, a Country Office in Austria, and Collaborating Centers in Ghana, Ethiopia, and Madagascar. 39 countries and the WHO are members of IVI, and the governments of the Republic of Korea, Sweden, India, Finland, and Thailand provide state funding. For more information, please visit https://www.ivi.int.

 

CONTACT

Aerie Em, Global Communications & Advocacy Manager
+82 2 881 1386 | aerie.em@ivi.int


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US Spent More Than Double What It Collected In February, As 2024 Deficit Is Second Highest Ever… And Debt Explodes

US Spent More Than Double What It Collected In February, As 2024 Deficit Is Second Highest Ever… And Debt Explodes

Earlier today, CNBC’s…

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US Spent More Than Double What It Collected In February, As 2024 Deficit Is Second Highest Ever... And Debt Explodes

Earlier today, CNBC's Brian Sullivan took a horse dose of Red Pills when, about six months after our readers, he learned that the US is issuing $1 trillion in debt every 100 days, which prompted him to rage tweet, (or rageX, not sure what the proper term is here) the following:

We’ve added 60% to national debt since 2018. Germany - a country with major economic woes - added ‘just’ 32%.   

Maybe it will never matter.   Maybe MMT is real.   Maybe we just cancel or inflate it out. Maybe career real estate borrowers or career politicians aren’t the answer.

I have no idea.  Only time will tell.   But it’s going to be fascinating to watch it play out.

He is right: it will be fascinating, and the latest budget deficit data simply confirmed that the day of reckoning will come very soon, certainly sooner than the two years that One River's Eric Peters predicted this weekend for the coming "US debt sustainability crisis."

According to the US Treasury, in February, the US collected $271 billion in various tax receipts, and spent $567 billion, more than double what it collected.

The two charts below show the divergence in US tax receipts which have flatlined (on a trailing 6M basis) since the covid pandemic in 2020 (with occasional stimmy-driven surges)...

... and spending which is about 50% higher compared to where it was in 2020.

The end result is that in February, the budget deficit rose to $296.3 billion, up 12.9% from a year prior, and the second highest February deficit on record.

And the punchline: on a cumulative basis, the budget deficit in fiscal 2024 which began on October 1, 2023 is now $828 billion, the second largest cumulative deficit through February on record, surpassed only by the peak covid year of 2021.

But wait there's more: because in a world where the US is spending more than twice what it is collecting, the endgame is clear: debt collapse, and while it won't be tomorrow, or the week after, it is coming... and it's also why the US is now selling $1 trillion in debt every 100 days just to keep operating (and absorbing all those millions of illegal immigrants who will keep voting democrat to preserve the socialist system of the US, so beloved by the Soros clan).

And it gets even worse, because we are now in the ponzi finance stage of the Minsky cycle, with total interest on the debt annualizing well above $1 trillion, and rising every day

... having already surpassed total US defense spending and soon to surpass total health spending and, finally all social security spending, the largest spending category of all, which means that US debt will now rise exponentially higher until the inevitable moment when the US dollar loses its reserve status and it all comes crashing down.

We conclude with another observation by CNBC's Brian Sullivan, who quotes an email by a DC strategist...

.. which lays out the proposed Biden budget as follows:

The budget deficit will growth another $16 TRILLION over next 10 years. Thats *with* the proposed massive tax hikes.

Without them the deficit will grow $19 trillion.

That's why you will hear the "deficit is being reduced by $3 trillion" over the decade.

No family budget or business could exist with this kind of math.

Of course, in the long run, neither can the US... and since neither party will ever cut the spending which everyone by now is so addicted to, the best anyone can do is start planning for the endgame.

Tyler Durden Tue, 03/12/2024 - 18:40

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