How Four Countries Supply More Than Half of the World’s Fertilizer Exports

# Overview Global agriculture relies on three nutrient groups supplied through fertilizers: nitrogen, phosphate, and potash. In 2024, total global fertilizer exports reached about 113.37 million tonnes measured by nutrient content. Four countries—Russia, Canada, Morocco, and China—accounted for 53% of those exports.

# The Big Four and their 2024 export totals

• Russia: 23,234,623 tonnes
• Canada: 14,419,294 tonnes
• Morocco: 12,154,362 tonnes
• China: 10,126,069 tonnes

These four countries lead the ranking when exports are combined across nitrogen, phosphate, and potash and measured by nutrient content rather than finished-product weight.

# Why different countries lead Fertilizer production at scale depends on specific inputs. Potash (potassium) and phosphate depend largely on accessible mineral deposits and mining capacity. Nitrogen fertilizers are more dependent on energy and feedstock—chiefly natural gas—for production. As a result, a country that is a major potash exporter may not be a major nitrogen exporter, and vice versa.

# Full exporter ranking context The visualization that produced these figures lists 136+ exporting countries, with U.S. exports at 6,372,572 tonnes and Saudi Arabia at 5,589,139 tonnes, followed by Germany, Israel, Qatar, and Belarus in the next ranks. The total of 113,373,883 tonnes aggregates many countries that contribute smaller but collectively meaningful volumes.

# Practical implications for food systems A concentrated export base means supply disruptions in a few key countries can ripple through global fertilizer markets. Because fertilizer types have different production drivers, countries with abundant mineral resources or low-cost energy can wield influence in specific nutrient markets.

# Data and measurement The ranking uses 2024 Food and Agriculture Organization data and measures exports by nutrient content. That approach compares the actual nutrient volumes dispatched internationally rather than the mass of finished fertilizer products, which can differ because of product formulations and moisture or carrier materials.

# What to watch next Keep an eye on policies, trade restrictions, mining developments, and energy market shifts in leading exporter countries. Changes in any of those areas will likely affect availability and prices of nitrogen, phosphate, or potash differently, with downstream impacts on global crop input costs.

# Short conclusion The 2024 data show that global fertilizer exports are concentrated among a small group of countries, each leveraging either mineral deposits or energy resources to supply key nutrients. That concentration creates both efficiencies and vulnerabilities for the global food system.