US fertilizer company Itafos begins expansion in Brazil

The American multinational fertilizer company Itafos has begun an expansion process in Brazil and has set its next target in the western region of Bahia. 

The specialty phosphate fertilizer company, headquartered in Houston (USA), with a factory located in Arraias, Tocantins (TO), will open an office in Luís Eduardo Magalhães (BA). 

Currently, Bahia represents around 20% of the company's sales volume. The expectation is to reach 30% of the volume by the end of 2025. The region offers the best logistics due to its proximity to agricultural areas and its strategic location of just 120 km from the nearest farms on the border between Tocantins and Bahia.

Large-scale grain production in the region allows Itafos to compete in the market. Felipe Coutas, president of Itafos in Brazil, said the goal of the expansion is to further strengthen the company's relationship with farmers and partners in the region.

″We are projecting continued growth until 2026, with Itafos becoming a relevant national supplier, especially in Western Bahia. Our product has full synergy with the plantations in Bahia,″ he says.

In 2023, Itafos resumed production of I-Active, the reactive natural phosphate considered the most soluble in Brazil, with IBD certification. The company is positioned as one of the few in Brazil to produce this type of product from a sedimentary source, with great appeal for perennial and semi-perennial crops, land clearing, phosphating (soil correction), and systemic fertilization. 

The multinational also competes in the Brazilian acidified fertilizer market by launching the Super Forte Duo product, which combines high solubility and sulfur concentration, being a source of immediate absorption for the plant, ideal for cerrado vegetation.

In Brazil, Itafos' annual installed capacity is approximately 500 thousand tons of fertilizers and 220 thousand tons of sulfuric acid. In 2023, Itafos was the third-largest company in sulfuric acid distribution volume.

The new Itafos office in the central region of Luis Eduardo Magalhães (BA), will be opened in October 2024.

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