Key points: Morocco accounts for approximately 68% of global phosphate rock reserves, with grades as high as 33% (P₂O₅), and is predominantly surface-mined, giving it significant cost advantages. Exports are carried out through four major ports: Casablanca, Safi, Jorf Lasfar, and Laayoune, with Safi Port emerging as a strategic hub. In 2025, raw ore exports reached 6.8 million tons, with India as the largest buyer. OCP dominates the entire industrial chain, with phosphate fertilizer capacity already expanded to 16 million tons per year; under the SP2M plan, the target is to reach 20 million tons per year by 2027, and its influence over global fertilizer pricing continues to strengthen. Tracking points: the pace of capacity release, port logistics bottlenecks, and changes in export destinations.
Preface
The distribution of global phosphate rock resources is extremely uneven, and Morocco is undoubtedly at the pinnacle of this resource pyramid. As the country with the world's most abundant phosphate rock reserves, Morocco, with its exceptional resource endowment and continuously expanding capacity layout, occupies an unshakable strategic position in the global phosphate chemical supply chain. More critically, relying on the OCP Group, Morocco is striding forward from a pure resource-exporting country to a global phosphate chemical manufacturing center. Its integrated full-industry-chain layout and aggressive capacity expansion cycle are profoundly influencing the supply-demand pattern and pricing logic of global phosphate fertilizers and phosphate chemical products. This article will provide a panoramic analysis of Morocco's phosphate chemical industry from multiple dimensions, including resource reserves, product characteristics, export trade, industrial layout, and capacity planning.
I. Resource Endowment: Reserves Account for 70% of the World, with High Grade and Low Cost Building Core Barriers
Reserve scale: According to USGS data, Morocco's phosphate rock reserves in 2025 are approximately 50 billion tons, accounting for 68% of global reserves. Some institutions estimate this proportion at about 70%-73%. Whichever measure is used, Morocco firmly holds the top position in global phosphate rock resources. Africa as a whole possesses about 80% of the world's phosphate rock reserves, with Morocco contributing the vast majority of that.
In sharp contrast to the scale of its reserves is its production level. In 2025, Morocco's phosphate rock output was approximately 36 million tons, accounting for only 14% of global output. By comparison, China's phosphate rock output in 2025 reached 129 million tons, accounting for 49% of the global total, but its reserves are only 3.4 billion tons, or 5% of the world's total. Morocco's pattern of "large reserves, small output" means that there is enormous room for capacity expansion, which is also the underlying logic behind OCP Group's continued large-scale investment in recent years.
Resource characteristics: The core competitiveness of Moroccan phosphate rock lies not only in "quantity" but also in "quality." Its ore has an average grade as high as 33% (calculated as P₂O₅), with some mining areas even exceeding 34%. Compared with China's domestic phosphate rock, which has an average grade of only 16.85% and nearly 90.8% of which is medium- and low-grade ore, Morocco's high-grade advantage is extremely prominent.
More noteworthy is that Moroccan phosphate rock is almost entirely sedimentary deposits, and most of it is surface-mined, suitable for large-scale mechanized mining. In addition, the main mining areas are relatively close to the Atlantic coastal ports, giving obvious transportation cost advantages. High grade means lower beneficiation costs and higher economic value, while surface mining means lower unit mining costs and a faster pace of capacity release. This triple advantage of "resource endowment + mining conditions + logistics location" builds a cost barrier in the global market that is difficult to replicate. In addition, the rare earth element (TREO) content in Moroccan phosphate rock reaches 500-800 ppm, giving it potential value for associated resource development. As global attention to critical minerals continues to rise, this characteristic may also bring additional strategic premium to Moroccan phosphate rock.
II. Export Landscape: Four Major Ports with Clear Division of Labor, Safi Port Emerging as a Strategic Hub
Morocco's exports of phosphate rock and related products are mainly carried out through four major ports: Casablanca, Safi, Jorf Lasfar, and Laayoune, with clearly differing functional positioning among them.
Casablanca Port is the traditional main port for Morocco's phosphate rock exports, and exports of unprocessed phosphate rock are mainly concentrated here. In 1921, OCP's first batch of phosphates was exported through this port. However, with the adjustment of OCP's strategic focus, the ore export terminal at Casablanca is planned to be gradually phased out.
Jorf Lasfar Port is the main export hub for OCP's phosphoric acid and finished fertilizers. The port is connected to the Khouribga mining area by the world's longest gravity conveyor pipeline, greatly reducing transportation costs and water consumption. At present, the three major ports of Jorf Lasfar, Tanger Med, and Casablanca together handle nearly 88% of Morocco's total port cargo volume.
Safi Port is the strategic-level export hub that OCP is currently focusing on building. OCP has signed a contract worth US$205 million with China's ZPMC to provide advanced bulk cargo handling equipment for Safi Port. After the new equipment is put into use, Safi Port will have the throughput capacity to handle tens of millions of tons of phosphate rock and finished fertilizer annually. Safi Port is replacing the increasingly congested Jorf Lasfar Port to become OCP's core export channel for the Americas and West Africa markets.
Laayoune Port is located in southern Morocco and transports phosphate rock from the Boucraa mining area via the world's longest conveyor belt (102 kilometers) for export there, mainly serving ore exports from the southern mining areas.
Overall, Morocco's phosphate rock exports are evolving from the old pattern of "Casablanca as the main port" to a new pattern of "Safi Port rising as a strategic hub, Jorf Lasfar Port focusing on downstream processed products, and more specialized division of labor among ports."
Export data: rising volumes and prices, with accelerating market diversification
In terms of export scale, Morocco's phosphate rock exports performed strongly in 2025. Annual raw phosphate rock exports reached 6.8 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 4%. In the first half of 2025 (January-June), phosphate rock exports increased by 26% year-on-year to 3.42 million tons. In the first four months, export volume reached 1.94 million tons, an increase of 240,000 tons year-on-year.
In terms of export value, the growth was even more significant. In the first seven months of 2025, total exports of phosphates and derivatives reached 55.18 billion dirhams (about 5.2 billion euros). Annual export value of phosphates and derivatives exceeded 99.8 billion dirhams, a year-on-year increase of 14.6%. Among this, phosphate rock exports alone saw revenue in the first three quarters increase by as much as 112% year-on-year. OCP Group's full-year revenue in 2025 reached about 114 billion dirhams (about US$11.4 billion), a year-on-year increase of 17%.
In terms of export destinations, India is the largest single buyer of Moroccan phosphate rock. In the first half of 2025, India imported 958,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 20%. OCP estimates that its full-year 2025 exports of phosphate products to India (including DAP and phosphate rock) may exceed 2.5 million tons, nearly 40% higher than 1.8 million tons in 2024.
At the same time, Morocco is actively implementing a market diversification strategy. First-half 2025 export data show: exports to Mexico increased by 16% to 451,000 tons, exports to Turkey surged by 58% to 223,000 tons, and exports to Lebanon jumped from 33,000 tons last year to 252,000 tons. New export destinations also include Poland (161,000 tons), Lithuania (144,000 tons), and New Zealand (87,000 tons). In addition, among phosphate rock exports from the Western Sahara region, India ranked first with 1.34 million tons, followed by Mexico (508,000 tons) and New Zealand (171,000 tons).
In terms of prices, in the second quarter of 2025, Morocco's FOB quotations for phosphate rock with 68-72% BPL grade were US$153-268 per ton, slightly higher than the first quarter's range of US$150-263 per ton. The upward price trend for high-grade ore is still continuing.
III. Industrial Layout: An Integrated Network from Mines to Chemicals
Morocco's phosphate chemical industry is absolutely dominated by the state-owned giant OCP Group (Office Chérifien des Phosphates). OCP was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Casablanca, with the Moroccan government holding 95% of its shares. After more than a century of development, OCP has built a complete value chain from phosphate rock mining to high-end chemical production, with business covering the entire industrial chain of phosphate rock mining, processing, fertilizer manufacturing, and global sales.
3.1 Upstream Mining: Three Major Mining Areas Support Raw Material Supply
OCP's phosphate rock mining is mainly concentrated in three major mining areas: Khouribga, Gantour, and Laayoune. Among them, the Khouribga mining area is the core production area. Since mining first began in 1921, it has carried about 70% of OCP's phosphate rock output.
3.2 Midstream Processing: Two Major Chemical Hubs with Division of Labor and Coordination
The processing of phosphate rock into phosphoric acid and downstream fertilizer products is mainly concentrated in two major chemical platforms: Jorf Lasfar and Safi. These two parks are OCP's strategic bases for converting phosphate rock into phosphoric acid and various fertilizers, equipped with world-class chemical facilities.
3.3 Downstream Extension: Specialized Operation of Business Units
To adapt to different market demands, OCP has divided its business into multiple strategic units. Among them, OCP Nutricrops focuses on plant nutrition and fertilizer production and is the main force behind capacity expansion; OCP Specialty Products & Solutions focuses on the high-value-added specialty chemicals sector, covering industrial salts derived from purified phosphoric acid, precision animal and plant nutrition solutions, and serving advanced industries such as electronics and the energy transition.
IV. Current Capacity and Expansion Plans: Global Phosphate Fertilizer Leader, with the SP2M Plan Leading a New Round of Growth
4.1 Current Capacity Scale
In 2025, Morocco's phosphate rock output was approximately 36 million tons, with first-half output increasing by 15.1% year-on-year. OCP is the world's largest phosphate fertilizer producer, and its phosphate fertilizer capacity has increased significantly from 3 million tons per year in 2008 to 16 million tons per year in 2025. In the first seven months of 2025, Morocco's total exports of phosphates and derivatives reached 55.18 billion dirhams, of which phosphate fertilizer exports increased by 16.7% year-on-year. In terms of phosphoric acid, OCP's phosphoric acid capacity at Safi is about 1.63 million tons per year. In March 2025, a new phosphoric acid treatment unit was commissioned at Jorf Lasfar, capable of producing 1,500 tons of phosphorus pentoxide (P₂O₅) per day. In the first half of 2025, output of phosphoric acid derivatives increased by 6.8% year-on-year, and export revenue increased by 12.8% year-on-year.
4.2 Capacity Expansion: Led by the SP2M Plan, Aiming for 20 Million Tons by 2027
OCP is in the midst of an unprecedented capacity expansion cycle, with the core driver being the Mzinda-Meskala Strategic Program (SP2M). The specific goals are as follows:
To achieve the above goals, OCP has formulated a massive investment plan. The total investment plan for 2023-2027 is as high as US$13 billion; between 2025 and 2028, OCP plans to execute US$10 billion in huge investments. In the second quarter of 2025 alone, OCP invested 9.23 billion dirhams (about 870 million euros) in capacity expansion.
At the specific project level, OCP is building three new granulation units with an annual capacity of 1 million tons each at the Jorf Lasfar platform, and is building a brand-new Mzinda chemical complex in the Safi corridor. In addition, a new phosphate rock project with an annual output of 15 million tons is also under construction, providing sufficient raw material support for downstream expansion.
The product mix is also being optimized simultaneously. Facing a market environment of high sulfur costs, OCP Nutricrops has increased the proportion of TSP production, which has lower sulfur consumption. TSP currently accounts for about 65% of OCP's fertilizer output, a substantial increase from about 30% in 2025, reflecting OCP's flexible response strategy under cost pressure.
V. Summary and Outlook
Morocco's phosphate chemical industry presents a distinctive characteristic of "resource monopoly, integrated operation, and aggressive capacity expansion." Based on phosphate rock reserves accounting for nearly 70% of the world's total, OCP has built a complete industrial chain from ore mining at mines such as Khouribga, to phosphoric acid and fertilizer processing at the two major chemical hubs of Jorf Lasfar and Safi, and then to downstream extension through specialized business units such as Nutricrops and Specialty Products.
On the export side, Morocco is undergoing a reshaping of its logistics landscape from the traditional Port of Casablanca to Safi Port as a strategic shift. While India's position as the largest buyer remains solid, the development of emerging markets such as Mexico and Turkey is also accelerating, making export markets more diversified.
On the capacity side, OCP is in a peak expansion period led by the SP2M plan—the phosphate fertilizer capacity target is 20 million tons per year (2027), and the SP2M plan will add 9 million tons per year (2028), of which 4.5 million tons per year will be commissioned first in 2026. With the successive implementation of major projects such as the new granulation units at Jorf Lasfar and the Mzinda chemical complex, Morocco's position as a manufacturing hub in the global phosphate chemical supply chain will be further consolidated.
Looking ahead, against the backdrop of rigid growth in global fertilizer demand and the increasingly prominent scarcity of high-grade phosphate rock, Morocco, with its difficult-to-replicate resource cost advantages, full-industry-chain integration capabilities, and aggressive capacity expansion strategy, will continue to increase its pricing influence over global phosphate fertilizers and phosphate chemical products. For market participants, continuously tracking OCP's pace of capacity release, the progress in alleviating port logistics bottlenecks, and changes in export destinations will be key clues for grasping the evolution of supply and demand in the global phosphate chemical market.
Note: If you have any further details to add regarding the points mentioned in this article, or if you have any questions on the phosphorus chemical industry (phosphate ore, phosphoric acid, iron phosphate, lithium iron phosphate, etc.) and solid-state batteries, please feel free to contact:
Tel: 021-20707860 (or add WeChat: 13585549799) – Yang Chaoxing. Thank you!
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