CSBP mothballs superphosphate manufacturing plant | Australian Markets

WA industrial giant CSBP has mothballed its superphosphate manufacturing unit on the back of the State’s nickel industry collapse and declining demand for pasture fertiliser forward of Labor’s dwell sheep export ban.

CSBP common supervisor Ryan Lamp mentioned the Kwinana plant — on which the Wesfarmers-owned company’s growth was based — had been below close watch as farmers moved away from livestock.

He mentioned this issue was amplified by growing competitors from worldwide suppliers and rising operational and uncooked materials prices, specifically for sulfuric acid, a essential ingredient in superphosphate.

The company has pledged to “work closely with” a “small number” of affected employees, to supply redeployment alternatives, profession advice, job search and counselling assist because it transitions to care and upkeep “in coming months”.

Mr Lamp mentioned CSBP’s granulation and liquid fertiliser plants would stay open and there was nonetheless potential for the manufacturing unit to reopen if “market conditions changed”.

“We will continue to support WA growers by importing SSP, and repurposing the facility to increase CSBP’s storage capacity will enable us to offer greater supply reliability across our solid fertiliser products,” he mentioned.

“Fertilisers, such as Flexi-N, will still be manufactured at our Kwinana, Esperance, and Geraldton facilities, as well as cropping fertilisers in our Kwinana granulation plant.”

Superphosphate was as soon as probably the most broadly used fertiliser in WA at more than a million tonnes a yr.

However its dominance has fallen with the shift over a number of many years away from sheep in direction of cropping, which requires more concentrated and nitrogen-based fertilisers.

Mr Lamp mentioned the associated fee of uncooked materials inputs to home SSP manufacturing had elevated considerably as a outcome of manufacturing curtailments within the WA nickel industry, which is dealing with a world oversupply, low costs and elevated manufacturing prices.

“Until recently, sulfuric acid, which is a critical input to the SSP production process, was supplied to the WA market as a by-product of the nickel refining process,” he mentioned.

“The cost of securing imported acid has adversely affected the plant’s production costs, while market demand for SSP has declined.”

ASX-listed Incitec Pivot additionally plans to close its Geelong superphosphate manufacturing plant by the top of the yr because of unsustainable enter prices and competitors from cheaper, imported merchandise.