Australia shores up fertiliser supply with $160 million loan for Phosphate Hill

Australia has announced a $160 million joint government loan to support the Phosphate Hill fertiliser operation in north-west Queensland. The funding is intended to keep the plant and the Mount Isa acid plant operating as the facility changes ownership. Officials say the move is aimed at protecting domestic fertiliser supply at a time of higher input costs.

Sponsored

The loan is being provided by the federal and Queensland governments to Brisbane-based Ryowa, a subsidiary of the Mayfair Corporations group. Ryowa has bought the phosphate operations from Dyno Nobel for a reported final price of $150 million this week. Federal Industry and Innovation Minister Tim Ayres said the support was needed because surging sulphur prices, linked to conflict in the Middle East, were putting pressure on the business.

Ayres said maintaining domestic fertiliser capacity was important for farmers, the wider agricultural sector and food security. He said the loan would help reduce reliance on international markets and provide capital while the facility was going through its sale process. The minister also said the situation showed why supply chain security and industrial capability mattered for Australia's future.

The announcement comes against a broader backdrop of concern about fertiliser security and exposure to global shipping routes. The row notes that about half of the world's traded sulphur passes through the Strait of Hormuz, where disruption can quickly affect prices. It also says Australia relies heavily on imported fertiliser inputs, including urea and phosphate-based products, making domestic production strategically significant.

Sponsored

Phosphate Hill is one of the country's major phosphate fertiliser sites, and the Mount Isa acid plant is part of the same production chain. The support package is therefore not only about one facility, but about preserving a wider industrial capability in a region that supplies a key input for agriculture. The change in ownership also places Ryowa, and its parent Mayfair Corporations group, at the centre of a sensitive supply issue.

What remains unclear is how long the loan support will be needed and whether higher sulphur costs will ease if regional tensions change. It is also not yet clear how the new ownership structure will affect future investment at the site. For now, the governments are signalling that keeping the plant running is a priority while the market remains volatile.

#Australia #fertilisersupply #PhosphateHill #TimAyres #Queensland