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In 1965, the consumption of chemical fertilizers stood at some 46.3 million metric tons. By 2024, this amount had increased to 206 million tons. In that latter year, nitrogen fertilizers accounted for around 57 percent of the total global consumption, whereas phosphate and potash fertilizers held shares of 23 and 20 percent, respectively. Mineral fertilizers are widely used in agriculture to improve soil fertility and achieve higher crop yields. They typically contain one or more of the three main essential nutrients needed for plant growth: nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. 

Asia dominates the market

Asia has experienced a big increase in fertilizer use since the 1960s. In 2024, East and South Asia were the two regions with the highest fertilizer consumption worldwide with 64.5 and 38.9 million metric tons, respectively. China alone consumed around 23 million metric tons of nitrogenous fertilizers, 12 million tons of phosphate fertilizers, and over nine million tons of potash.

Main fertilizer companies

Some of the main global fertilizer producers include Nutrien, Mosaic, and Yara. In 2019, Nutrien, a Canadian company that resulted from the merger of PotashCorp and Agrium, had the largest fertilizer capacity worldwide, at over 30 million metric tons. In 2020, Nutrien generated a revenue of nearly 201 billion U.S. dollars and over 23 thousand people employed.