There has been a gradual expansion by conventional fertilizer companies into the territory of slow- and controlled-release fertilizers (SCRFs) and stabilized fertilizers (SFs). Agrium -now combined with PotashCorp as Nutrien - was an early mover in SCRFs, launching its ESN product in the USA in 2002 and acquiring sulphur-coated urea products of Nu-Gro in 2006. Koch made a major move into the SF market with the acquisition in 2011 of the assets of Agrotain International "Agrotain" (NBPT) urease inhibitor. Eurochem has been marketing Entec nitrification inhibitors since acquiring assets from BASF at Antwerp in 2011. The growing force in China is Kingenta, but it has enlarged its geographical footprint by acquiring the Dutch company Ekompany in 2016, with its E-cote technology. On the technology side, Stamicarbon has teamed up with Pursell Agri-Tech - once a subsidiary of Agrium - to open a new fertilizer coating facility in Sylacauga, Alabama, in June 2018. The latest has been Polish fertilizer producer Grupa Azoty purchasing Compo Expert in November 2018. This sector has been characterized by much M&A activity. In this section, we take an overview of the product types, the players and the market segments to watch.
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