Phosphate trade patterns in the new world order

Economic liberalization, the end of the Cold War and other indicators of a new world order, have moved trade in phosphate, as in other trades, toward a more cost-economical basis, in which trade in the raw material is increasingly being de-emphasized. Phosphatic fertilizer manufacturing will continue to be concentrated on phosphate-rock deposits. Sulfur imports will follow the phosphate-rock processors. Given the context of these changes, it is unlikely that they will be, or even can be, reversed. China and India face heavy population pressures and are likely to pursue any economic organization form that produces growth adequate to serve the needs of their expanding populations. In Europe, the direction of events is also toward more open economics. The future looks uncertain but will surely not look like the past.