Let's Wait and See Impact on Government Revenue

• Trinidad & Tobago Energy Minister Stuart Young has indicated that higher global ammonia prices, owing to supply issues created by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, should result in more revenue for the Government in the current fiscal year. 
• The global market for fertilisers has been in turmoil recently as a result of higher global prices for natural gas, which is used to make ammonia. The war in Eastern Europe has pushed fertiliser prices even higher as Russia is a major exporter of potash, phosphate, and nitrogen-based fertilisers. 
• According to the International Food Policy Research Institute, Russia accounts for 15% of global trade in nitrogenous fertilisers, 17% of global potash fertiliser exports, and 20% of the global natural gas trade, a key component in manufacturing fertilisers. Notably, earlier this month, the country announced that it would temporarily halt exports of fertilisers. 
• T&T has ten operational ammonia plants, including two ammonia complexes on the Point Lisas Industrial Estate, with a total annual nominal capacity of about five million metric tonnes. Most of the ammonia produced at the Point Lisas Industrial Estate is exported, therefore the country should see an increase in revenue from petrochemicals. However, given the dynamics playing out in global markets, the ministry will have to employ a wait-and-see approach for revenue collection in 2022.

 (Source: Trinidad Express Newspapers)