Fertilizer Plants in Egypt: Feeding the Highest Fertilizer-Use Rate in Africa
We will cover the one African market in this series where the challenge isn’t building fertilizer capacity, but running an already large, gas-dependent industry efficiently while new specialty and greenfield projects come online around it.
The most fertilizer-intensive agriculture on the continent
Egypt’s agriculture is concentrated in the intensively irrigated Nile Delta and valley, producing cotton, wheat, rice, maize and sugarcane among its major crops. Egypt is also one of the world’s largest wheat importers, a reflection of a population that has outgrown what even highly productive irrigated farmland can supply domestically. What sets Egypt apart within this series is fertilizer intensity itself: at roughly 540 kg of nutrients applied per hectare of arable land, Egypt’s rate is the highest recorded of any African country, around 30 times the continent-wide average of about 18 kg/ha discussed on the main Africa page.
An established, gas-fed industrial base under cost pressure
Egypt has around 11.8 million tonnes per year of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizer capacity across its major producers, and ranked as the world’s ninth-largest fertilizer exporter by value in 2024, at roughly $2.43B. Abu Qir Fertilizers, responsible for about half of Egypt’s nitrogen fertilizer output, and Misr Fertilizers Production Company (MOPCO), Egypt’s largest single urea producer at around 2 million tonnes annually, anchor this base.
That base is under real cost pressure. In September 2025, the government raised the price of natural gas supplied to nitrogen fertilizer plants from $4.50 to $5.50 per MMBtu; industry analysis has estimated roughly 15% erosion in Abu Qir’s returns for every further $1 increase in gas costs. That pressure is part of why efficiency-focused projects are getting attention: MOPCO has a converter modernisation programme targeting around 10% lower gas consumption per tonne, and Egypt’s first green-hydrogen fertilizer pilot is targeting roughly 15,000 tonnes of green hydrogen output and more than 130,000 tonnes of annual CO₂ savings.
Alongside the established majors, newer and more specialised capacity is emerging: Evergrow produces around 360,000 tonnes of potassium sulfate and 120,000 tonnes of calcium nitrate annually as specialty crop nutrition products, and a proposed $7–10B phosphate complex in Upper Egypt (backed by China’s Asia Potash) is targeting 2 million tonnes of annual production, entirely for export via the Red Sea port of Safaga, with a stated intention to use green ammonia.
Five countries, five different starting points
| Egypt | Continental average (from the main Africa page) | |
|---|---|---|
| Fertilizer use intensity | ~540 kg/ha | ~18 kg/ha |
| Primary constraint | Gas feedstock cost and efficiency, not capacity | Insufficient capacity and import dependence |
Where this connects to equipment choices
Egypt’s largest existing plants, Abu Qir and MOPCO’s core ammonia/urea trains, are established, large-scale operations where the live questions are mostly about energy efficiency and gas consumption per tonne, which sits outside granulation and drying equipment specifically. The more directly relevant activity is at the newer end of the market: specialty producers like Evergrow, whose potassium sulfate and calcium nitrate output depends on precise granulation and drying to hit the particle-size and purity specifications specialty crop nutrition buyers require, and greenfield projects like the proposed Upper Egypt phosphate complex, which will need a full new granulation and drying line built from scratch rather than an efficiency retrofit to an existing one.
Egypt: Africa's Nitrogen Powerhouse, Running on Gas
The biggest nitrogen producer in Africa
Egypt is Africa’s leading nitrogen fertilizer producer. It has about 7.2–7.3 million tonnes a year of urea capacity. A sizeable share goes to the domestic market, leaving roughly 350,000–400,000 tonnes a month for export. Between 2023 and 2025, Egypt exported an average of about 4.5 million tonnes of urea a year.
Government figures put total capacity at about 7.8 million tonnes of nitrogen fertilizers, 7 million tonnes of phosphate rock and 5 million tonnes of phosphate fertilizers. Fertilizer and chemical exports rose to about $9.4 billion in 2025, up from $8.5 billion the year before. The main buyers were Turkey, France, Italy and Brazil.
Africa's most intensive fertilizer user
FAO data shows fertilizer use of about 407 kg per hectare in Egypt, compared with an African average of 22.6 kg/ha in 2023. Egypt’s farming is intensive and irrigated, centred on the Nile Delta and valley.
Domestic supply is tightly managed. The government sets prices for subsidised fertilizer, which are well below market prices, and requires producers to supply allocated volumes to the Ministry of Agriculture. Producers are allowed to export up to 55% of their production.
The constraint: gas
Natural gas makes up about 70% of the cost of producing nitrogen fertilizer. As an industry export council chairman put it, even a supply cut of a few hours stops production immediately. Gas is now Egypt’s main bottleneck.
Domestic gas output fell from 4.6 billion m³ in January 2024 to 3.3 billion m³ in February 2025, the lowest since April 2016. Chronic shortages have turned Egypt into a net gas importer. The effects on fertilizer plants:
- May 2025: Abu Qir Fertilizers and Misr Fertilizers Production (MOPCO) were notified of a two-week cut in gas supply and expected output to fall by 30%. Similar cuts had been imposed in June 2024.
- 2026: Israel’s halt of gas exports after the outbreak of war with Iran removed roughly one LNG cargo every four days from Egypt’s supply. So far, urea plants have kept running at normal rates.
- Looking ahead: the industry says it needs 700–750 million cubic feet of gas a day to meet its 2026 export targets. The government expects domestic gas production to recover to 6.6 billion cubic feet a day by 2027.
The investment response: get more from every unit of gas
Egypt’s producers have responded by upgrading existing plants rather than building new ones.
- Ammonia converter revamp, completed mid-2026: Abu Qir finished revamping the ammonia converter and associated facilities at its Abu Qir 1 plant and replaced the ammonia transfer line. Ammonia capacity rose by about 200 t/day and urea capacity by about 210 t/day, while the plant now needs less natural gas.
- Three agreements signed in January 2025:
- Green hydrogen with MPS: renewable-powered electrolysis will partly replace natural gas at Abu Qir 1. The project is designed partly to meet the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
- Automation with ABB: an advanced control system at Abu Qir 1, expected to cut gas use in the steam boilers by 2–4% at first. Abu Qir 2 and 3 are planned to follow.
- Digital efficiency tools with ABB and MPS across Abu Qir’s other facilities.
- Results: net profit for the first half of 2026 rose 119% to EGP 10.01 billion, on revenue up 86% to EGP 23.52 billion. Abu Qir says new export duties on nitrogen fertilizers and changes to the gas pricing formula will show up in future results. It is also finalising a long-term strategy with McKinsey.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much fertilizer does Egypt produce?
Egypt is Africa’s leading nitrogen fertilizer producer, with about 7.2–7.3 million tonnes a year of urea capacity. Government figures put total capacity at about 7.8 million tonnes of nitrogen fertilizers, 7 million tonnes of phosphate rock and 5 million tonnes of phosphate fertilizers.
How much urea does Egypt export?
Egypt exported an average of about 4.5 million tonnes of urea a year between 2023 and 2025. After supplying the domestic market, roughly 350,000–400,000 tonnes a month are available for export. Producers may export up to 55% of their production.
Who are Egypt's biggest fertilizer producers?
Abu Qir Fertilizers and Chemical Industries is Egypt’s leading fertilizer producer. Misr Fertilizers Production Company (MOPCO) runs Egypt’s largest nitrogen fertilizer complex, at Damietta. MOPCO supplies about 30% of the country’s domestic urea demand and 60% of its ammonia demand.
How much fertilizer do Egyptian farmers use?
Egypt has the most intensive fertilizer use in Africa: about 407 kg per hectare, according to FAO data for 2023. The African average is 22.6 kg per hectare. This reflects intensive, irrigated farming in the Nile Delta and valley.
Why does natural gas matter so much to Egypt's fertilizer industry?
Ammonia and urea are made from natural gas, which accounts for about 70% of the cost of producing nitrogen fertilizer. Even a short interruption in gas supply stops production immediately. That makes gas availability and price the industry’s main constraint.
Has Egypt cut gas supplies to fertilizer plants?
Yes, several times. In May 2025, Abu Qir Fertilizers and MOPCO were notified of a two-week gas supply cut and expected output to fall by 30%, after similar cuts in June 2024. In 2026, Israel’s halt of gas exports after the outbreak of war with Iran tightened supply further, although urea plants have so far kept running at normal rates.