China's Sinochem boost Moroccan fertilizer buys

China's Sinochem will immediately raise the volume of its fertiliser imports from Moroccan state-run phosphate producer OCP under a deal that could also pave the way to joint investments, officials said. Under the agreement signed on Monday, OCP will more than triple volume sales of diammonium phosphates (DAP) to the Chinese company starting in 2011 to 500,000 tonnes a year, Moroccan Foreign Trade Minister Abdellatif Mazouz said.  "This agreement covers the 2011-2014 period. The maximum amount of fertilizers OCP had sold on an annual basis to Sinochem was 150,000 tonnes," Mazouz told Reuters. Growing protein consumption in Asia and a surge in global food prices is encouraging farmers to invest in fertiliser, agrochemicals and farming machinery to increase yields, Baring Global Agriculture Fund said last week. This trend is also encouraging chemical companies to secure supplies of phosphates and pushing up prices. Morocco, the only North African country that has no oil or gas of its own, sits on nearly half of global phosphate reserves, including deposits in the disputed Western Sahara, and accounts for around a third of global phosphate exports. [Click link to read full article...]