Azerbaijan, Baku, 14 February / corr. Trend I. Khalilova/ The Sumgayit Chemicals Plant is ready to restore its activity which was terminated in 1992, in order to put an end to its dependence on importing phosphate fertilizer into the country, Eldar Ismayilov, the head of the plant said. The recovery program of the plant includes the production of 200,000 tons of phosphate fertilizer in the first stage and the program is valued at AZN 4.85.mln.
The demand in the agricultural sector of Azerbaijan for phosphate fertilizer equals 450,000-500,000 tons. The Ministry of Agriculture of Azerbaijan says that the sowing area will total 1.4mln hectares in 2008 which will demand 1,027mln tons of fertilizer. The phosphate fertilizer accounts for 530,000 tons of this amount, the nitrogen fertilizer for 348,000 tons and the potash fertilizer for 220,000 tons.
"Currently the Ministry of Agriculture is importing phosphate fertilizer from Sum ( Ukraine) which is of a lower quality than that produced locally," Ismayilov said. Therefore the production of this type of fertilizer should be restored and we can then produce 200,000 tons of fertilizer in 5 to 6 months, he said.
The restoration of activities of the phosphate fertilizer will not only put an end to the country's dependence of importing, but will also decrease the purchasing expenditure. A ton imported fertilizer costs $236-$240 while the domestic product would cost $150-$155.
The Phosphate fertilizer plant became operational in 1961 and was put forward for privatization in 2001.
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