Argus Fertilizer Asia Conference

• How are decarbonisation strategies being implemented by large-scale oil and gas producers expected to impact the production of sulphur?
• How important is pushing the use of sulphur as a valuable crop nutrient as well as a commodity for fertilizer production when considering future production plans?
• How has the sulphur industry adapted to the challenges of recent years such as conflict in Europe and the pandemic to bolster for the future?

• When will we see the market change from current over supply of sulphur? Could we be headed toward oversupply of sulphuric acid?
• Why did prices decline in 2023 and how are they expected to recover in 2024 and beyond?
• What is the Argus outlook for sulphur and sulphuric acid in the short-, med- and long-term?

• Look at sulphur as a nutrient essential for the healthy development of crops instead of as a commodity.
• Discover why sulphur is often referred to as ‘the 4th major nutrient’ for crops including its benefits to crops such as increasing yield, forming amino acids, proteins, chlorophyll formation and more.
• Why is agronomy so important and why should fertilizer producers pay attention when considering their future product offerings.

• How are MAP (monoammonium phosphate) and DAP (diammonium phosphate) fertilizer quotas and changing export controls in China – the largest global DAP export market – affecting sulphuric acid demand?
• How are market applications for sulphuric acid growing and diversifying – including metal leaching and battery materials?
• How is the production of sulphuric acid expected to be split between smelter produced acid and sulphur burner produced acid in the med- to long-term?

• Phosphate rock and phosphoric acid is seeing increased demand competition from Asian battery production industries – is sulphur still the key market relationship for phosphate rock and its products?
• Are positive buying trends in demand centres such as India and Pakistan expected to continue to increase or remain steady?
• In 2022 China banned the export of phosphate fertilizers to ensure their domestic supply was sustained – how is their supply and export business developing in late 2023 and early 2024 following this tightness?

• Why is sulphur in such hot demand from the metals industry – learn about the use of sulphur and sulphuric acid in the metals sector.
• How does the metals industry view the sulphur and sulphuric acid market? What are the key trends to note?
• What are the key countries emerging as demand hubs for sulphur in the metals industry such as Indonesia?

• How are government and individual company initiatives pushing for better nutrient management affecting Asian fertilizer production, consumption, and agricultural markets?
• In terms of finance, what type of institutions are investing in the fertilizer industry and why? Will the bulk of financing for a green fertilizer industry be private or public?
• What role will specialty fertilizers play in the future of the Asia region’s development?

• What are the latest trends in the Asia fertilizer markets and what is the outlook for the short- med- and long-term?
• How is demand for specialty fertilizers growing across the region? Is this affecting demand for NPK fertilizers?

• With low but stable growth predicted for APAC in 2024 what is the outlook for the region’s economies and populations?
• What countries in Asia are expected to be dominant importers and exporters in the med- and long-term? How will this affect current trading patterns?
• How could factors such as a weakened Chinese property market, El Nino increasing the risk of both flooding and drought, the growth of Asian middle class and inflation affect the fertilizer industry?

• Why is southeast Asia being tipped as the future hotspot for natural gas? What does demand for natural gas look like across Asia, Africa and the Middle East in 2024?
• Are recent spikes in natural gas prices being passed on to food through the fertilizer link?
• How can Asian and Middle Eastern gas originators ensure a reliable, sustainable supply of gas for fertilizer production across the region?

• How has grain production evolved across Asia in recent years and how has this impacted the types of fertilizers needed across the continent?
• How has paddy soil fertility changed in recent years and what is the impact on fertilizer management? Can new AgriTech advancements such as nutrient mapping or precision agriculture assist with sustainable fertilizer management in paddy soil?
• What role could specialty fertilizers play in meeting the demand for rice and grains across the region?

• Palm oil is the most widely produced edible oil, with Indonesia and Malaysia alone accounting for 80% of global supply and India and China the largest importers.
• Could decreasing palm oil prices influence the demand for NPK fertilizers, and could this in turn see a higher substitution of potash with other alternatives?
• How are government and NGO regulations on sustainable palm oil cultivation affecting availability of palm oil across the continent?

CBAM (carbon border adjustment mechanism) is a tool implemented to put a fair price on carbon emitted during the production of carbon intensive goods entering the EU. This is designed to encourage cleaner industrial production in countries outside the EU and prevent carbon leakage in supply chains.

• Fertilizers, along with hydrogen, have been identified as two of the six carbon intensive industries and at risk of carbon leakage, and as such exports from the Middle East and Asia will be subjected to CBAM procedures.
• Why do Asian fertilizer producers need to know about CBAM? Understanding scope 1,2 & 3 emissions, and why it is so important that Asia remains competitive in a global export market.
• How will the CBAM be enforced and what are the next steps to take for Asian producers and traders?

• How can technological advancements such as AI improve the nature of trading in Asia?
• How can technology assist companies across the extended value chain to become more sustainable?
• How will the main hurdles to widespread adoption such as training, education, financing be tackled?

• Focusing on inland distribution networks, how can the industry work to improve distribution from ports to landlocked countries? What are the main bottlenecks including visibility on fuel prices, unreliable rail and road networks and more.
• What learnings can be made from other developing infrastructural regions such as African fertilizer distribution?
• What are the opportunities available on this relatively blank infrastructure canvas? How can distributors and logistics specialists maximise their market share in the coming years?