Natural Phosphates Market (2019 To 2025) Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Application, Regional Outlook, Competitive Strategies, And Segment Forecasts

Global natural phosphates market is expected to witness considerable growth over the forecast period on account of rapid growth in agricultural production across the globe. Increasing application scope of phosphates in numerous end-use industries including pharmaceutical, chemical processing, detergents, and other industrial applications, such as paints & coatings, textiles, ceramics, and plastic are anticipated to boost natural phosphate market over the next seven years. Rise in agricultural food production to meet the demand of ever-growing population has triggered the use of phosphate-based fertilizers, particularly in emerging economies of China and India which is expected to be a key driver for market growth. However, stringent environmental regulations in Europe regarding the use of phosphate-based fertilizers and detergents are likely to pose a credible threat to the market. As a result, emerging demand for natural phosphates obtained from ores such as apatite and phosphorite are expected to have potential growth prospects over the next six years. Rapid industrialization coupled with growth in household detergents industry is expected to provide impetus to the market. Proliferation of chemical processing units in developing economies of Latin America and Asia Pacific has further augmented the use of phosphates and its derivates such as phosphoric acid.

Phosphate fertilizer was the largest application segment in 2014 accounting for nearly half of the global consumption on account of rising awareness among the farmers regarding scientific methods to increase agricultural yield. Natural phosphates are primarily formed in the upper part of the earth’s crust with main ores including phosphorite, apatite, vivianite, and monazite. Natural phosphates are used in fertilizers, detergents, rare earths, pharmaceutical, and industrial applications. Phosphate fertilizer is expected to be the fastest-growing segment over the forecast period followed by household detergents on account of surge in agricultural production in India, China, Brazil, and Mexico.

The majority of global phosphate rock reserves are located in Morocco and Western Sahara. They constitute more than half of the global reserves. Other major holders of phosphate rock reserves include China, Russia, U.S., Middle East, and South Africa. China dominated the world natural phosphates market in terms of volume in 2014. Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing market over the next seven years owing to rapid growth in numerous end-use industries in emerging economies of China and India. North America and Europe are expected to witness moderate growth over the forecast period on account of stringent government regulations restricting the use of phosphate-based fertilizers and detergents.  Latin America is likely to have strong growth prospects over the next six years due to rapid industrialization and the emerging chemical processing industry in Brazil.