US company Koch to enter Australia's fertiliser market

Australia is set to have another player in the fertiliser industry, with American business Koch Industries leasing a 150,000-tonne storage facility at Geelong.

Marc Sukkel, Koch Fertiliser Australia said the company had identified opportunities in Australia.

Australia as part of the Asia Pacific basin is integral to the make up of the global fertiliser market, he said.

With the objective of expanding its fertiliser business globally, Koch Industries believes Australia has both a need for additional competition and a fit for its products and services, he said.

The company will look to bring in a small amount of fertiliser into Australia in 2010, before beginning operations in earnest in 2011. It will focus on using its port storage facility, leased from GrainCorp, to service distributors across Victoria and the Riverina.

It is expected the company will handle multiple types of bulk fertiliser, focusing on phosphorus and nitrogen products.

Sukkel said the initial aim would be to build up relationships with key distributors within Victoria and southern New South Wales. In spite of a host of other fertiliser players, he said he was confident growers would welcome added competition.

Koch Industries is a privately owned business based in Wichita, Kansas, and has a strong presence in the global nitrogen market.