Company: SQM
Filing Date: 2025-04-24
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0000909037-25-000020
Chunk: 65

Company: CHEMICAL & MINING CO OF CHILE INC
Filing Date: 2025-04-24
Form: 20-F
Item: Item 4
Chunk 65
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 6   %              7   %
Asia and Others                                               9   %             54   %             39   %
Our industrial chemical products are marketed mainly through our own network of offices, logistic platforms, representatives and distributors. We maintain updated inventories of our stocks of sodium nitrate and potassium nitrate, classified according to graduation, to facilitate prompt dispatch from our warehouses. We provide support to our customers and continuously work with them to improve our service and quality, together with developing new products and applications for our products.
Industrial Chemicals: Competition
We believe that we are one of the world’s largest producers of industrial sodium nitrate and potassium nitrate. In 2024, our estimated market share by volume for industrial potassium nitrate was 32% and for industrial sodium nitrate was 29% (excluding domestic demand in China and India).
Our competitors in sodium nitrate are mainly based in Europe and Asia, producing sodium nitrate as a by-product of other production processes. In sodium nitrate, BASF AG, a German corporation, and several producers in Eastern Europe and China are competitive since they produce industrial sodium nitrate as a by-product. Our industrial sodium nitrate grades also compete indirectly with substitute chemicals, including sodium carbonate, sodium sulfate, calcium nitrate and ammonium nitrate, which may be used in certain applications in place of sodium nitrate and are available from a large number of producers worldwide.
Our main competitors in the industrial potassium nitrate business are Haifa Chemicals, Kemapco and some Chinese producers, which we estimate had a market share of 18%, 9% and 15%, respectively, in 2024.
Producers of industrial sodium nitrate and industrial potassium nitrate compete in the marketplace based on attributes such as product quality, delivery reliability, price, and customer service. Our operation offers both products at high quality and with low cost.
In the industrial potassium chloride market, we are a relatively small producer, mainly focused on supplying regional needs.
Other Products
SQM generates revenue from the sale of third-party fertilizers (both specialty and commodity). These fertilizers are traded globally in substantial volumes and are used either as raw materials for specialty mixes or to enhance our product portfolio. 
We have established capabilities in commercial management, supply, flexibility, and inventory management, enabling us to respond to the evolving fertilizer market and secure profits from these transactions.
Production Process
Our integrated production process can be classified according to our natural resources:
•caliche ore deposits, which contain nitrates