Fertilizer Plants in the UAE: Food Self-Sufficiency in a Desert Economy
The UAE’s place in the fertilizer industry is mostly about export-oriented production and investment decisions, not domestic farmland. This article covers the country’s push for food self-sufficiency, early work on turning desalination brine into fertilizer salts, the export plants at Ruwais, and what all of that means for anyone weighing a plant in the region.
The food self-sufficiency push
Abu Dhabi now aims to produce 70% of its basic food commodities locally by 2040, up from about 30% today, under a new strategy announced in October 2026. The UAE as a whole imports an estimated 80–90% of its food, so the push relies on technology and water efficiency rather than on expanding conventional farmland.
The national framework is the National Food Security Strategy 2051 and the UAE Food Security Policy Framework, both approved in 2018. They are coordinated by the Emirates Food Security Council and aligned with the UAE Water Security Strategy 2036. The strategy’s long-term goal is to make the UAE the world leader in the Global Food Security Index by 2051.
| Target or programme | Body | What it sets out |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural Transformation Strategy (2026) | Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA) | Lift self-sufficiency in basic food commodities from 30% to 70% by 2040; grow agriculture's contribution to GDP from AED 9.5 billion to AED 34.6 billion; reduce irrigation water use; move from 26th to the top five in the Global Food Security Index |
| National Food Security Strategy 2051 (2018) | Federal government | Make the UAE the world leader in the Global Food Security Index by 2051, with sustainable, technology-led food production |
| National System for Sustainable Agriculture (2020) | UAE Cabinet | Raise self-sufficiency in targeted crops by 5% a year and average farm income by 10% a year |
| National Farms Sustainability Initiative | Ministry of Climate Change and Environment | Secure purchase agreements for local farm output and raise self-sufficiency in selected food commodities |
Abu Dhabi’s strategy, built on the principle of “grow more with less”, has five pillars and 13 transformational programmes. Progress is already visible in some categories: Ghitha Holding’s CEO said in May 2026 that the UAE is nearing its self-sufficiency target in poultry.
This approach shapes domestic fertilizer demand. Protected cultivation, fertigation and hydroponics favour water-soluble, nitrogen-based formulations rather than granular field fertilizer. Individual projects are also small by fertilizer-industry standards: one controlled-environment tomato farm reported in the press covers 10,000 square metres and is expected to produce around 150 t of tomatoes a year.
Desalination brine to fertilizer: research and early pilots
Turning desalination brine into fertilizer is still at the research and pilot stage in the UAE; we found no commercial brine-to-fertilizer plant operating in the country. The interest is real, because the UAE depends on desalination and the process produces about 1.5 litres of brine for every litre of fresh water, most of which is returned to the sea.
Seawater brine contains small amounts of potassium (about 1% of dissolved salts), which can in principle be recovered as potassium chloride or potassium sulfate (SOP), both fertilizer products. Potassium chloride is the simplest potassium salt to extract, but a Saudi Water Authority study notes that the economics depend on integrating it with sodium chloride production.
| Project | Who | What it does | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solar thermal desalination for greenhouses, Al Ain | Desolenator with Silal | Turned saline groundwater into 25 m³/day of irrigation water for greenhouses, with zero liquid discharge and the brine converted into usable salts | Field trial completed |
| Brine and CO2 to bicarbonate | UAE University with ADNOC | Reacts waste CO2 with brine to form sodium bicarbonate, aiming to leave brine usable for irrigation | Lab work moving to pilot-scale testing |
| Carbon fibre brine treatment | UAE University | Patented material that treats brine, captures CO2 and recovers minerals | US patent granted; pilot plants planned |
| Brine reuse in modular farms, Dubai | International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) | Uses reject brine to raise fish, then irrigates salt-tolerant crops with the nutrient-rich effluent | Pilot farm running for about four years |
For fertilizer producers, the near-term significance is limited but worth watching. Brine-derived potassium and magnesium salts could one day feed local blending, and fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis, which uses a fertilizer solution to pull water out of brine for fertigation, has been tested at pilot scale elsewhere.
The production side: Ruwais
The UAE’s fertilizer industry is built for export, on a scale far beyond domestic farm demand. Fertil, in the Ruwais Industrial Zone on the Arabian Gulf coast, began production in December 1983 and draws its seawater, desalinated water and power from an ADNOC utilities plant. It is part of Fertiglobe, an ADNOC-controlled company that describes itself as the world’s largest seaborne exporter of urea and ammonia combined, with plants in the UAE, Egypt and Algeria.
Fertiglobe’s company-wide capacity is about 6.6 Mt per year of urea and merchant ammonia. The company plans to raise this to 7.6 Mt per year by 2027 through a 1 Mt per year low-carbon ammonia project at Ruwais, a timeline that is likely to be sensitive to regional shipping conditions. In September 2025, a hydrogen recovery unit at Fertil lifted ammonia output by up to 6%, to about 2,120 t/d, without a new reactor train.
| Domestic agriculture | Export production at Ruwais | |
|---|---|---|
| Products | Water-soluble and fertigation-grade nutrients for protected cultivation | Urea and ammonia |
| Scale | Small; for example, a 10,000 m² farm producing about 150 t of tomatoes a year | Millions of tonnes per year across Fertiglobe's portfolio |
| Main driver | National Food Security Strategy 2051 and Abu Dhabi's 70% self-sufficiency target | Gas feedstock and export demand |
| Water | Nutrients delivered through irrigation systems; water-saving targets | Seawater, desalinated water and power from ADNOC utilities |
Exposure to the 2026 shipping disruption
Ruwais sits inside the Gulf, so Fertil’s export routes were directly affected by the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. The UAE does have east-coast ports such as Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman, outside the strait, but Ruwais is on the opposite side of the country.
Fertiglobe’s footprint is partly outside the strait. In the first quarter of 2026, the company reported that its Egyptian plants ran at 105% of capacity, and adjusted EBITDA grew 31% year on year, helped by higher prices and a focus on efficiency. As of mid-October 2026, fertilizer traffic through the strait had not meaningfully recovered, so any timeline for new UAE export capacity should be treated with caution.
Where the UAE fits in a plant decision
The UAE is less likely to be where a new Middle Eastern granulation plant is built for domestic crops, and more likely to be where decisions about plants elsewhere are made. UAE-based companies invest abroad: ARJ Holding, for example, has been reported to have signed a contract for a compound fertilizer project in Baiji, Iraq. AD Ports and Fertiglobe have also agreed to explore supply-chain opportunities around urea and ammonia storage and shipping.
| Role | Example | Relevance of granulation, drying and blending equipment |
|---|---|---|
| Producer-exporter | Fertil and Fertiglobe at Ruwais | Low; large-scale ammonia and urea built around licensor technology |
| Domestic grower | Controlled-environment farms supported by ADAFSA's 2040 strategy | Low; demand is mainly for water-soluble, fertigation-grade products |
| Investor and hub | ADNOC and Fertiglobe, ADQ, and companies such as ARJ Holding investing abroad | Indirect; financing and procurement decisions for projects elsewhere may be made here |
| Technology developer | Brine-recovery research at UAE University, Khalifa University and ICBA | Early-stage; a possible future source of potassium and magnesium salts for blending |
Where equipment decisions come in
Rotary drum granulators, dryers and coolers have no major role in the UAE’s own farming or its Ruwais export plants. The more realistic angles are:
- Bulk blending, storage and handling for regional distribution
- Equipment for projects that UAE investors back elsewhere, such as the compound fertilizer lines under development in Iraq
- Longer term, crystallization, drying and blending of salts recovered from desalination brine, if those pilots reach commercial scale
Our Iraq page covers the compound fertilizer opportunity in more detail.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the UAE’s food self-sufficiency target?
Abu Dhabi’s Agricultural Transformation Strategy, announced in October 2026, aims to raise self-sufficiency in basic food commodities from about 30% to 70% by 2040. At national level, the National Food Security Strategy 2051 aims to make the UAE the world leader in the Global Food Security Index by 2051.
How much of its food does the UAE import?
The UAE imports an estimated 80–90% of its food. That is why its strategy relies on technology, water efficiency and protected cultivation rather than on expanding conventional farmland.
Does the UAE produce fertilizer?
Yes, mostly for export. Fertil, at Ruwais in Abu Dhabi, produces urea and ammonia and is part of Fertiglobe, which describes itself as the world’s largest seaborne exporter of urea and ammonia combined. Fertiglobe’s capacity across the UAE, Egypt and Algeria is about 6.6 Mt per year, with plans to reach 7.6 Mt per year by 2027.
What kind of fertilizer do UAE farms use?
UAE farming leans toward greenhouses, hydroponics and fertigation, so demand is mainly for water-soluble and fertigation-grade nutrients rather than granular field fertilizer. Individual farms are also small by fertilizer-industry standards.
Can desalination brine be turned into fertilizer?
In principle, yes. Seawater brine contains potassium that can be recovered as potassium chloride or potassium sulfate, both fertilizer products, but the economics are still unproven. In the UAE, the work is at the research and pilot stage. Projects include a solar desalination trial in Al Ain that converted brine into usable salts, and UAE University research with ADNOC on turning brine and CO2 into sodium bicarbonate.
Is there a brine-to-fertilizer plant operating in the UAE?
Not that we could find. Current projects focus on recovering salts, treating brine or reusing it in farming systems, such as ICBA’s pilot farm in Dubai that uses reject brine for fish farming and salt-tolerant crops. These could become a future source of salts for fertilizer blending if they reach commercial scale.