First Consignment Of Cheap Fertilizer To Arrive From Morocco

The first consignment of cheap fertilizer promised by president William Ruto last week is expected to arrive from Morocco this week.

“From next week, fertilizer will start arriving in Kenya in batches to meet the half-price promised by President Ruto,” Former Moroccan ambassador to Kenya El Mokhtar Ghambou, said on Saturday while addressing the press.

Speaking on Tuesday during his inaugural held at Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani, president  Ruto Promised farmers that a 50kg bag of fertilizer would drop from 6,500 shillings to 3,500 shillings. The president said that his administration will ensure farm inputs, including quality seeds and fertilizer are available to farmers at an affordable price.

Morocco is among the biggest producers of fertilizer in Africa, with 70 percent of the world’s Phosphate rock reserves located in the country. The country currently produces about 12 million tonnes of phosphorous fertilizer.

In a recent tweet, president Ruto noted that “The government is accelerating relations with the Kingdom of Morocco in areas of trade, agriculture, health, tourism, energy among others, for the mutual benefit of the two countries.

The morocco government recently announced a plan to increase fertilizer production owing to the surging demand from countries, on the back of the Russia-Ukraine war which led to sanctions on the exportation of fertilizer to other countries.

In addition, China has cut the exportation of the commodity to protect its food security leaving Morocco and Canada as the only markets for the commodity. China is the world’s biggest phosphate exporter, shipping 10 million tonnes last year, or about 30 percent of total world trade.

Farmers have been hit by scarcity of fertilizer in recent months, as the prices continue with an upward spree. Currently, a 50kg bag of fertilizer costs between 4200 to 7,000 shillings in some regions after prices increased in the global market due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Kenya has been importing fertilizer mainly from Saudi Arabia and Russia. According to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade, Kenya’s Imports of fertilizer from Saudi Arabia amounted to US$136.09 Million in 2021.

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