The turnover of the Office Chérifien des Phosphates amounted to 61,035 billion dirhams at the end of September 2023, compared to 89,538 billion dirhams during the same period last year.

The office explained, in a statement, that this decrease is mainly due to a decline in sales prices in all product branches compared to the exceptional price levels recorded in 2022.

In detail, the same source highlighted that the number of fertilizer transactions declined by 28 percent compared to the same period last year in local currency, and this is mainly explained by the decline in fertilizer prices on an annual basis. This decline was partially mitigated by the increase in export volumes, which is stimulated by increasing global demand in major export markets, especially in South America and Europe.

During the aforementioned period, the number of phosphate rock transactions recorded a decline of 42 percent, while the number of phosphoric acid transactions decreased by 50 percent compared to the previous year in local currency. This is mainly due to the decline in prices on an annual basis and the decrease in the volume of exports to the most important importing regions. In contrast, the volume of exports of OCP witnessed a strong recovery during the third quarter, which partly made it possible to correct the delay in sales of phosphate rocks and phosphoric acid recorded in the first quarter of the year. The gross profit margin increased to 32,186 billion dirhams, compared to 56,246 billion dirhams in the previous year, as a result of the high costs of previously established raw materials inventory and the significant accumulation of inventory for the year 2022. The raw profit before deducting interest, tax and amortization (EBITDA), during the first nine months of the year 2023, reached , equivalent to 17,179 billion dirhams, compared to 42,964 billion dirhams for the same period last year, which led to achieving a profit margin before deducting interest, tax and depreciation in the range of 28 percent.

On the other hand, the OCP statement recorded that during the third quarter of 2023, global phosphate fertilizer prices gradually regained their rise after recording a decline during the second quarter, mainly due to the decline in Chinese exports and the rise in demand in most major markets.

This recovery in demand was mainly supported by low inventory levels and favorable economic conditions for farmers, especially in the United States, Europe, and India. Moreover, since July, prices of raw materials have risen, especially ammonia, due to unexpected outages and high gas prices in Europe.