Australia’s Agfert to raise fertilizer storage capacity

: Fertilizers
24/12/12

Australia's Agfert Fertilizers expects its new 20,000t fertilizer storage and distribution centre on the Eyre peninsula in South Australia to be completed in February or March next year to meet demand for the new fertilizer application season.

The new centre will have around 10,000m² of undercover storage, split into three large stockpiles and eight smaller areas. Equipped with five multi-hoppers, products at the facility will be able to load on an 80m weighbridge, supporting triple road trains loading at the facility. Once completed, Agfert Fertilizers will have approximately 80,000t of fertilizer storage across Southern Australia.

Urea, phosphates, and other fertilizers will all be stored at Agfert's Cowell and Balaklava facilities, with the total throughput expected to be around 100,000 t/yr or more.

Fertilizers in Southern Australia are mostly used on wheat, barley, canola, and legumes.

Agfert will also store and distribute ''N-Shield Urea,'' which increases fertilizer efficiency by reducing leaching by up to 30pc while also lowering greenhouse gas emissions. The inhibitor helps keep the nitrogen in the immediate profile, increasing yields by not losing them to volatilisation or underground water streams.

By Tom Woodlock

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