All eight major U.S. fertilizers tracked by DTN are now more expensive than they were a year ago, with anhydrous ammonia leading the increase at 25% above late-September 2025 levels.

The latest retail data for the week of September 21–25 show anhydrous averaging $977 per ton, up 6% from the previous month. Urea averaged $675 per ton, DAP $926, MAP $970, potash $498, UAN28 $423, UAN32 $479 and 10-34-0 $701.

The most important change from the previous week is that all eight products are now above year-ago levels. One week earlier, UAN32 was still below its 2025 comparison. The latest data therefore point to a broader reacceleration in fertilizer costs just as U.S. growers move into fall application planning.

All eight major fertilizers are now above 2025 levels

According to DTN Retail Fertilizer Trends, six of the eight major fertilizers were more expensive than a month earlier in the third full week of September. Two were slightly cheaper.

DTN classifies a monthly move of 5% or more as significant. Anhydrous was the only fertilizer in the latest report to exceed that threshold, rising 6% from the previous month.

Fertilizer Daily reported one week earlier that seven of eight major products were above year-ago levels. The latest report shows that UAN32 has now moved into positive year-over-year territory as well.

Anhydrous ammonia rebounds to $977 per ton

Anhydrous ammonia is the clearest signal in the latest data.

The average price rose from $923 per ton in late August to $977 per ton in late September, an increase of approximately 5.9% in one month. Compared with the same week in 2025, the price is up 25%.

The rise follows a sharp summer correction. Anhydrous averaged about $1,118 per ton in early May, then fell steadily through the summer before bottoming near $923 per ton in late August.

The latest increase therefore does not represent a return to the spring peak. At $977 per ton, anhydrous is still roughly 13% below its May high. But the reversal is significant because it suggests that part of the summer relief is already being unwound ahead of the fall application season.

Earlier September data showed U.S. retail fertilizer prices falling for a fifth consecutive week, with anhydrous at $923 per ton. The latest DTN report marks a clear break from that trend.

Urea is also moving higher

Urea averaged $675 per ton in the latest report, up from $655 in late August and approximately 9% above the same period last year.

That price remains far below the 2026 spring peak. Urea averaged about $865 per ton in early May, meaning the latest price is still roughly 22% lower than the high reached during the spring fertilizer shock.

Even so, the year-over-year comparison remains unfavorable for growers. The summer decline corrected much of the extreme spring spike, but it did not return nitrogen costs to 2025 levels.

Nitrogen remains cheapest through anhydrous on a per-pound basis

Despite its higher headline price per ton, anhydrous remains the lowest-cost nitrogen source among the four products tracked by DTN when measured per pound of actual nitrogen.

This comparison helps explain why anhydrous remains especially important in the Corn Belt. However, the agronomic decision is not based on fertilizer price alone: application timing, equipment, storage, weather and soil conditions all affect final nitrogen cost.

Phosphate prices remain elevated but relatively stable

DAP and MAP did not move as sharply as anhydrous in the latest report, but both remain expensive by historical standards.

DAP averaged $926 per ton, around 3% above last year, while MAP averaged $970 per ton, about 5% higher year on year.

The phosphate market has faced persistent cost pressure throughout 2026 from high sulfur prices, tighter supply and reduced output at some production sites.

Unlike nitrogen, where spring prices fell sharply over the summer, phosphate prices have remained comparatively sticky. MAP moved from $942 per ton in early May to $970 by late September, while DAP increased from $914 to $926 over the same broad period.

This means phosphate has offered growers less relief from the 2026 cost environment than nitrogen.

Potash remains the most stable major nutrient

Potash averaged $498 per ton, only 2% higher than a year ago.

Retail potash prices have remained in a narrow range for much of 2026, generally close to $490–500 per ton. That stability contrasts with the much larger swings seen in nitrogen.

The relatively modest increase does not remove supply-chain risk. The United States remains heavily dependent on imported potash, particularly from Canada, and logistics remain strategically important for domestic fertilizer availability.

Fall application season could keep nitrogen prices firm

The timing of the latest increase matters because many U.S. corn-growing regions are approaching fall fertilizer application.

Anhydrous ammonia demand typically strengthens when soil temperatures fall to levels suitable for fall application, particularly across the Midwest.

Retail prices can therefore be supported even when international wholesale markets are softer, especially if dealers are holding inventory purchased at higher replacement costs.

Fertilizer Daily previously examined this retail lag, where lower wholesale fertilizer prices did not immediately translate into equivalent farm-gate reductions because distributors were working through higher-cost inventories.

USDA expects fertilizer-related farm spending to rise 15.3%

The latest retail-price data also fit a broader pattern of rising U.S. farm input costs.

The USDA Economic Research Service currently forecasts total U.S. farm production expenses at $492.8 billion in 2026, up $21.2 billion, or 4.5%, from 2025.

Fertilizer, lime and soil conditioner expenses are expected to increase by $5.3 billion, or 15.3%, one of the largest increases among major farm expense categories.

Fertilizer Daily reported in September that USDA now expects fertilizer-related spending to reach approximately $39.6 billion in 2026.

At the same time, inflation-adjusted U.S. net farm income is forecast to decline 5.5% from 2025.

That combination — higher fertilizer expenses and lower real farm income — increases pressure on growers to manage application rates, product choice and timing carefully.

The market has shifted from summer relief to renewed cost pressure

The broader 2026 trend can now be divided into three stages.

1. Spring spike: nitrogen prices surged, with urea near $865 per ton and anhydrous above $1,100.
2. Summer correction: prices declined sharply as supply conditions improved and wholesale markets softened.
3. Early fall rebound: anhydrous and several other products have started moving higher again ahead of application demand.

The latest numbers do not indicate a return to spring crisis levels. They do show, however, that the summer correction has stopped delivering broad year-over-year relief.

The clearest evidence is simple: every one of the eight major fertilizers tracked by DTN is now more expensive than it was a year ago.

What U.S. growers should watch next

• anhydrous ammonia demand during the fall application window;
• dealer inventory and replacement costs;
• wholesale urea and ammonia prices;
• natural gas costs;
• phosphate production and sulfur availability;
• Canadian potash supply and rail logistics;
• regional differences between national average prices and local retail bids.

The next several weeks will show whether the late-September increase is a temporary seasonal move or the beginning of a broader fourth-quarter fertilizer price rebound.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: DTN Progressive Farmer, USDA Economic Research Service

Growing crops on the Moon or Mars will depend on solving a nutrient problem that fertilizer agronomists know well: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium that are scarce or locked in forms plants cannot use. A review by researchers in Brazil and the United States argues that beneficial fungi are among the strongest tools for making space agriculture work in local regolith rather than in soil shipped from Earth.

The paper, Selection of beneficial fungi for plants with the potential to metabolize lunar and Martian regolith, was published online in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences on February 28, 2026, and in the journal’s April 17 issue. It drew new attention on September 25, when ScienceDaily ran a summary. The authors are from the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO), Winston-Salem State University and the Florida Institute of Technology. It is a literature review, not a new experiment.

Why space agriculture struggles in regolith

Regolith is the loose mineral layer covering the Moon and Mars. It contains no organic matter and no living microbes, which the authors see as its defining difference from even the poorest soil on Earth. It is also typically alkaline, which cuts the solubility of phosphorus and potassium. It carries potentially toxic levels of aluminum and manganese, and Martian material adds perchlorate salts.

Composition data for widely used simulants show the scale of the challenge. The Martian simulant MGS-1 contains just 0.29% K₂O and 0.17% P₂O₅, against 12.84% aluminum oxide. The lunar highlands simulant LHS-1 has 0.34% K₂O, 0.17% P₂O₅ and 26.29% aluminum oxide. Nitrogen has been detected on both bodies only in trace amounts. Potassium on Mars exists, but no reserve large enough to supply farming has been identified. Phosphorus is relatively abundant on Mars and at least partly extractable by plants.

Micronutrients run in the opposite direction. Martian regolith holds about 12.4% iron, according to studies the review cites. That is more than 1,000 times the roughly 0.01% most crops need, and most of it is bound in insoluble oxides.

Which fungi the review puts forward

The review groups candidate fungi by what they do. Penicillium and Aspergillus strains solubilize phosphate through organic acid production, the same mechanism behind commercial phosphorus-solubilizing biologicals on Earth. Siderophore-producing fungi such as Beauveria bassiana chelate iron into more available forms. Other species remove or immobilize aluminum. In one cited study, Aspergillus tubingensis released metals from the Martian simulant MMS-1, producing oxalic acid that rapidly lowered pH within five days.

Trichoderma, already widely sold as a biostimulant and biocontrol agent, gets particular attention. In a lunar simulant, Trichoderma viride taken from cactus roots significantly improved seed germination compared with other fungi. Trichoderma longibrachiatum spores survived almost two years of exposure outside the International Space Station when shielded from radiation, with about 30% remaining viable.

The authors place their strongest bet on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) from the phylum Glomeromycota. These fungi act as microscopic extensions of plant roots, and on Earth they improve iron uptake, reduce oxidative stress and bind soil particles through the glycoprotein glomalin. The early evidence is limited but encouraging. Chickpeas grown in lunar simulant amended with AMF and vermicompost flowered and set seed. In an older test, marigolds inoculated with a bacterial consortium and Glomus flowered after 54 days, while uninoculated controls died within three to four weeks.

The cost argument for in-situ fertility

The economic logic is freight. Under NASA pricing first released in 2019, delivering cargo to the International Space Station was estimated at about USD 20,000 per kilogram. Shipping soil or conventional fertilizer beyond low Earth orbit would cost far more. The review argues that fungal biostimulants could offer a lighter, self-replicating way to build fertility on site.

Gaps before mycorrhizal fungi can farm Mars

The authors list four open problems. Fungi have not been grown with crops under combined microgravity, cosmic radiation, extreme temperatures and altered CO₂. There are no standard protocols for testing symbiosis in high-fidelity simulants. Biosafety is a concern, because the most promising genera also contain pathogens; some Trichoderma species caused up to 92% disease severity in corn cobs in one study. Inoculation methods for closed systems also still need to be developed. Almost all work to date has used simulants rather than real lunar or Martian material.

What it means for fertilizer and biologicals on Earth

The review is explicit that its findings apply to degraded and nutrient-poor soils on Earth as well. The same phosphate-solubilizing, iron-mobilizing and metal-tolerant strains are the ones biological input makers are commercializing today. Mycorrhizal products are also moving into mainstream distribution, as seen in Syngenta’s partnership with Groundwork BioAg on mycorrhizal biologicals. Regolith is an extreme test case for how far fungi can stretch scarce nutrients.

The next step, the authors say, is a staged research program: screen fungal inoculants in high-fidelity simulants, pair them with bacterial consortia, and then add simulated extraterrestrial conditions before anything is written into mission plans.

Source: ScienceDaily

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will increase funding for its Regenerative Pilot Program to $1 billion in fiscal 2027, up from $700 million, as the agency seeks to expand adoption of conservation practices aimed at improving soil health, water quality and farm resilience.

The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service said it will also give State Technical Advisory Committees greater flexibility to add conservation practices reflecting local resource concerns, production systems and producer needs. The program will continue to use a whole-farm, outcome-based approach, allowing producers to bundle multiple regenerative practices into a single application.

The fiscal 2027 funding includes $650 million through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and $350 million through the Conservation Stewardship Program. USDA said more than 5,100 contracts worth more than $851 million were obligated under the program in the previous fiscal year.

Lower barriers for producers

For fiscal 2027, USDA is lowering the resource-concern threshold for the Conservation Stewardship Program from 100% to 75%, which the agency said will reduce barriers to participation while maintaining the program’s conservation objectives.

The agency also plans dedicated funding set-asides, improved tracking, expanded technical support networks and additional monitoring and evaluation options for cropland, grazing land and forestry operations.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said strong demand from farmers prompted the funding increase. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the program would help producers improve soil health and reduce dependence on costly chemical inputs.

The program is part of the administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda, which links agricultural practices with broader food-system and public-health objectives.

Farmers and ranchers can apply through their local NRCS Service Center ahead of their state’s fiscal 2027 ranking dates. USDA said applications for EQIP and CSP can be submitted through the single regenerative application process.

Canpotex, the potash export company owned by Nutrien and Mosaic, broke ground on September 25 on a CAD 500 million (USD 353 million) upgrade of Neptune Bulk Terminals at the Port of Vancouver. The company called it the largest supply chain investment in its history.

The project will replace and modernize the equipment that moves potash from rail to ship at Neptune, including the shiploaders, the conveyors and the dumper pit used to unload railcars. Canpotex expects construction to finish in 2028 and says shipping will continue without interruption during the work.

Neptune is the world’s largest potash export terminal and has handled Canpotex cargoes since 1979. Canpotex moves more than 15 million metric tons of Canadian potash a year from nine Saskatchewan mines to customers in more than 40 countries. It has shipped about 325 million metric tons in more than 50 years of operation.

Vancouver Fraser Port Authority CEO Peter Xotta said the investment will better connect Saskatchewan potash to South America and the Indo-Pacific. He tied the project to Canada’s goal of doubling exports to non-U.S. markets.

The timing is notable. Canada supplies the bulk of U.S. potash imports, and Washington is exploring cheaper supply from Minsk as the first Belarusian potash cargo in four years heads to New Orleans. Upgrading Neptune strengthens the West Coast route that serves Canpotex’s overseas buyers, regardless of how the U.S. trade dispute plays out.

Source: Global News

Uzbekistan fertilizer exports to the European Union should gradually reach $500 million a year, more than double current levels, the country’s Investment, Industry and Trade Ministry said on September 21, according to Interfax. EU countries imported $233.5 million worth of Uzbek fertilizer in 2025, UN Comtrade data show.

The target follows Uzbekistan’s push at SPACE 2026, the agricultural show held in Rennes, France, on September 15–17, where leading Uzbek chemical companies exhibited on a Made in Uzbekistan stand. The ministry said talks with European importers and distributors produced a concrete result. Uzkimyoimpeks signed an agreement with French company Eudaira to deliver 10,000 tonnes of mineral fertilizer to France by the end of 2026.

Uzkimyoimpeks is the sole export-import agent for companies in the state chemical group Uzkimyosanoat. Group enterprises exported $329 million of chemical products in the first half of 2026, with urea, ammonium nitrate and superphosphate making up a significant share, Trend reported. The ministry did not give a target date for the $500 million goal.

Uzbek producers are seeking a larger share of an EU market that remains heavily import-dependent. The opportunity comes with a cost. The EU carbon border levy now applies to fertilizer imports, and lawmakers are weighing an expansion of CBAM and a new fertilizer fund. Emissions data from gas-based Uzbek plants will decide how competitive their product is at the EU border. The France contract is small, but it gives Uzkimyoimpeks a reference deal to build on.

Source: World Fertilizer

OCP Group reported a sharp decline in first-half 2026 earnings as the global phosphate market absorbed an exceptional sulfur shock, weaker fertilizer demand and tighter raw-material flows. Revenue fell 7.3% year on year to MAD 48.37 billion, while EBITDA declined 28.5% to MAD 13.31 billion.

The Moroccan phosphate producer nevertheless maintained an EBITDA margin of 28% for the first six months of the year, compared with 36% in the first half of 2025. The group said sulfur prices roughly tripled during the period, while phosphate fertilizer prices increased by only about 20%, creating one of the most difficult cost environments the industry has faced in years.

OCP responded by securing sulfur supplies early, diversifying procurement, adjusting maintenance schedules and shifting more fertilizer production toward triple superphosphate (TSP), which requires less sulfur and no ammonia. TSP accounted for 35% of OCP’s fertilizer export volumes in H1 2026, up from 26% a year earlier.

OCP revenue falls 7.3% as EBITDA drops 28.5%

OCP’s first-half results show the difference between maintaining sales and protecting margins during an input-cost shock.

Second-quarter margin was slightly lower at approximately 27%, reflecting the period when sulfur-market disruption became most severe.

The group’s consolidated net result also moved into the red. OCP reported a MAD 2.84 billion net loss attributable to the group for H1 2026, compared with a MAD 8.25 billion profit a year earlier. The decline reflected not only weaker operating performance but also higher depreciation, financing costs and adverse foreign-exchange effects.

Sulfur became the critical pressure point for phosphate fertilizer

Sulfur is essential to phosphate fertilizer production because it is converted into sulfuric acid, which is then used to process phosphate rock into phosphoric acid and finished fertilizers such as DAP, MAP and TSP.

The global sulfur market tightened sharply during the first half of 2026 as Middle Eastern exports were disrupted and additional restrictions reduced alternative supply. IFPRI reported that elemental sulfur exports fell by roughly one-third year on year during the first half, with the Gulf region accounting for most of the reduction.

OCP said sulfur prices roughly tripled during the first half. Fertilizer prices increased by only around 20%, meaning finished-product prices did not rise fast enough to fully compensate for the increase in raw-material costs.

Fertilizer Daily previously reported that sulfur shortages were becoming one of the main risks to global phosphate supply as disruptions affected several of the world’s largest traded sulfur sources.

By September, spot sulfur prices in some markets had exceeded $1,000 per tonne, fundamentally changing phosphate-production economics. A Fertilizer Daily analysis of the sulfur shock showed how rapidly higher sulfur prices were feeding into phosphate fertilizer costs.

OCP shifts fertilizer exports toward TSP

One of the clearest strategic responses in OCP’s first-half results was the change in fertilizer product mix.

TSP represented 35% of fertilizer export volumes in H1 2026, compared with 26% in H1 2025.

The shift matters because TSP uses less sulfur than some ammoniated phosphate fertilizers and does not require ammonia. In a market where both sulfur and ammonia have been expensive or constrained, that gives OCP greater flexibility in how it allocates raw materials.

OCP has also been expanding physical TSP capacity. A third TSP production line at Jorf Lasfar, with annual capacity of approximately 1 million tonnes, entered service in July 2026.

Fertilizer Daily reported in August that OCP is targeting roughly 4.5 million tonnes of new phosphate fertilizer capacity by the end of 2026 under the first phase of its SP2M expansion program.

Global phosphate fertilizer trade fell about 22%

The weakness in OCP’s first-half volumes was part of a wider contraction in international phosphate fertilizer trade.

OCP estimated that global phosphate fertilizer trade declined by approximately 22% during the first half of 2026 as affordability deteriorated and buyers in several major markets reduced or delayed purchases.

India entered the year with elevated inventories and went through a period of destocking. European demand was affected by weaker affordability and purchases that had been brought forward into late 2025, while several African markets also imported less.

Brazil proved more resilient than some other regions, although phosphate availability remained tight because of sulfur costs and constrained domestic production.

OCP’s own Moroccan phosphate fertilizer shipments declined approximately 16%, less than the estimated contraction in global trade. As a result, the company said Morocco’s share of global phosphate fertilizer trade increased from around 28% to 30%.

Fertilizer revenue fell 7%, while specialty products expanded

OCP’s segment performance also shows how the group is becoming less dependent on conventional fertilizer volumes alone.

Fertilizer revenue declined approximately 7% year on year in local currency, mainly because of lower export volumes.

Revenue from phosphate rock fell roughly 28%, while phosphoric acid revenue declined about 9%. OCP said part of the phosphoric acid decline reflected a deliberate decision to retain more acid internally for fertilizer and granulation production instead of selling it externally.

In contrast, revenue from OCP’s Specialty Products & Solutions business increased approximately 26% to MAD 4.76 billion.

The specialty-products business includes higher-value applications outside conventional bulk fertilizer markets, including food, industrial and animal-nutrition uses.

OCP moved maintenance forward to preserve second-half flexibility

OCP also adjusted its operating schedule during the most difficult part of the sulfur disruption.

The company brought forward part of its planned maintenance program into the second quarter. This allowed production outages that had originally been expected later in the year to be completed during a period of weaker phosphate demand and unusually high raw-material costs.

The strategy reduced production exposure during an unfavorable margin environment while preserving more operating flexibility for the second half.

This follows OCP’s earlier response to the supply shock. In May, Fertilizer Daily reported that OCP had secured sulfur inventory before the largest price increase and was shifting toward products that required less sulfur.

OCP resumes U.S. shipments after temporary duty suspension

One of the more important changes for OCP after the end of the first half was renewed access to the U.S. phosphate fertilizer market.

The United States temporarily suspended countervailing duties on Moroccan phosphate fertilizer in late June, opening an eight-month duty-free window as domestic phosphate supply tightened.

OCP resumed preparations for U.S. phosphate shipments in July, providing the group with an additional market for second-half volumes.

The reopening came at a time when U.S. phosphate producers were also reducing output because of sulfur shortages, making imported Moroccan supply strategically more important.

Capital spending rises despite weaker earnings

OCP continued to invest heavily even as operating earnings declined.

Capital expenditure reached approximately MAD 16.07 billion in the first half, compared with MAD 15.16 billion a year earlier.

The company’s investment program includes new fertilizer capacity, water infrastructure, renewable energy, industrial expansion and the Mzinda-Meskala phosphate development.

OCP’s integrated industrial system remains centered on sites such as Jorf Lasfar, where phosphate rock, phosphoric acid, sulfuric acid and finished plant-nutrition products are produced within a single industrial platform.

At the end of June, cash and cash equivalents stood at approximately MAD 32.69 billion, up sharply from the end of 2025.

Net financial debt declined to approximately MAD 115.47 billion from MAD 119.12 billion at the end of 2025, although the net-debt-to-EBITDA ratio increased to 3.05 times as earnings declined.

The sulfur shock changes the economics of phosphate production

OCP’s first-half results illustrate an important change in the global phosphate market: access to phosphate rock alone is no longer enough to guarantee low-cost fertilizer production when sulfur supply is constrained.

Integrated producers traditionally benefit from control over phosphate ore and processing assets. In 2026, however, sulfur became the marginal input determining how much phosphate fertilizer producers could economically manufacture.

That dynamic has encouraged producers to:

• secure sulfur inventories further in advance;
• diversify sulfur suppliers;
• shift toward lower-sulfur fertilizer products;
• reduce production when raw-material economics become unfavorable;
• prioritize higher-value or strategically important markets;
• increase investment in supply-chain resilience.

OCP’s increase in TSP exports is therefore not simply a product-marketing decision. It is an operational response to a major change in raw-material economics.

What to watch in H2 2026

The second half will depend on whether the global sulfur market begins to normalize and whether phosphate fertilizer demand recovers in major importing regions.

Key indicators include:

• the direction of sulfur prices and export availability;
• OCP’s ability to maintain higher TSP production;
• the ramp-up of the new 1 million t/y TSP line at Jorf Lasfar;
• additional phosphate fertilizer shipments to the United States;
• Brazilian fertilizer demand ahead of the next crop cycle;
• India’s phosphate inventories and import activity;
• the return, or continued absence, of Chinese phosphate exports;
• progress on OCP’s wider capacity-expansion program.

If sulfur costs ease while fertilizer prices remain elevated, phosphate producer margins could recover quickly. If sulfur remains scarce, however, the product-mix changes seen in the first half may become a more permanent feature of the global phosphate market.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: OCP Group Financial Results, OCP Group Industrial Operations, IFPRI, Morocco World News

]]> https://www.fertilizerdaily.com/20260930-fertilizer-canada-bill-c-39-supply-chains/ Wed, 30 Sep 2026 15:00:00 +0000 Kim Clarksen postId=48518

Fertilizer Canada has endorsed Bill C-39, the federal government’s Building Canada Strong Act, saying the legislation reflects several of the industry group’s long-standing demands for more reliable ports, rail and labor rules. Ottawa introduced the bill on September 21, according to Farms.com.

The association, which represents Canadian producers and distributors of nitrogen, phosphate, sulfur and potash, called the fertilizer sector a super user of the country’s supply chains. It welcomed measures to speed project approvals, modernize transportation infrastructure and operations, give Canadian Port Authorities more investment flexibility, update geographic certification, advance trade digitalization and address bottlenecks on critical trade corridors. It singled out the plan to formally designate strategic trade corridors as especially encouraging.

Labor is the other half of the package. Fertilizer Canada supports proposed Canada Labour Code changes that lengthen bargaining timelines and add special mediators. It said it will keep pushing for Cabinet authority to impose binding arbitration when a labor disruption threatens the national interest, a power the group is still seeking beyond the current bill.

The stakes are high for exporters. In a November 2024 statement, the group estimated that supply chain disruptions had cost the sector more than $1 billion in lost sales over six years. Reliable logistics also matter to U.S. buyers, since Canada supplies most U.S. potash, as Fertilizer Daily noted when the U.S.-Canada trade war threatened potash supply. The bill’s passage through Parliament is the next milestone.

Source: World Fertilizer

Anyang Indorama Gases, a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore-based Indorama Corporation, has signed an RMB 2.4 billion ($358 million) long-term loan to fund Phase II of its fertilizer expansion in Anyang City, Henan Province, the company said on September 22. The project is expected to double Indorama urea capacity at the site to about 2 million tonnes a year by 2029.

A consortium of five Chinese banks provided the financing. The expansion is a brownfield build that follows Indorama’s acquisition of the Anyang nitrogen fertilizer business earlier in 2026. Urea output will be produced from syngas and ammonia, and the company said the new capacity will use more energy-efficient production processes.

Amit Lohia, Group Vice Chairman of Indorama Corporation, called the loan an important milestone in the group’s global growth strategy. He said it strengthens Indorama’s fertilizer platform in one of the world’s most important markets. The Suzhou branch of Bank of China, one of the lenders, said the deal marks the start of its relationship with Indorama in China.

The project adds to China’s domestic nitrogen base as Beijing manages exports tightly. Fertilizer Daily reported that China set a 3.3 million tonne urea export quota with FOB price floors for the fourth quarter. Indorama framed the Anyang project around domestic supply and food security, so the added tonnes are more likely to serve Chinese farmers than export markets. Construction timelines and contractors were not disclosed.

Source: World Fertilizer

Canpotex will invest C$500 million to modernize Neptune Bulk Terminals at the Port of Vancouver, its largest supply-chain investment to date and a major upgrade to the export infrastructure that moves Saskatchewan potash to overseas fertilizer markets.

The project, announced on September 25, 2026, will replace and modernize key marine and terminal equipment, including shiploaders, conveyors and the railcar dumper pit used to unload potash trains and transfer product to ocean-going vessels.

Construction is expected to be completed in 2028. Canpotex said potash shipments will continue during the work without interruption.

Canpotex launches C$500 million Neptune modernization

Canpotex announced the project at a groundbreaking ceremony in Vancouver attended by Neptune Bulk Terminals, federal and Saskatchewan government representatives, the Port of Vancouver and supply-chain partners.

Canpotex describes Neptune as the world’s largest potash export terminal and the Port of Vancouver as the most important export gateway for Saskatchewan potash.

The C$500 million investment will focus on the infrastructure required to move potash from rail to vessel:

• replacement of aging potash shiploaders;
• modernization of conveyor systems;
• replacement and upgrading of the railcar dumper pit;
• associated marine and terminal infrastructure improvements.

The new investment builds on nearly C$1.5 billion that Canpotex says it has invested at Neptune during the past 20 years.

Neptune is the core Pacific gateway for Canpotex potash

Neptune Bulk Terminals is located on the north shore of Burrard Inlet at the Port of Vancouver. The terminal handles Canadian potash from Saskatchewan as well as steelmaking coal from western Canada.

Neptune says all potash moving through the terminal originates from Saskatchewan mines. Potash arrives by rail and is unloaded into covered storage before being transferred by conveyor to vessels at the terminal’s potash berths.

The terminal operates 24 hours a day and has dedicated potash loading infrastructure at Berths 2 and 3.

Neptune has become especially important to Canpotex because it handles the majority of the company’s offshore potash shipments. The terminal has said that approximately 70% of Canpotex potash passes through Neptune.

Canpotex now exports more than 15 million tonnes of Canadian potash annually to more than 140 customers in 40 countries, primarily across Asia, South America and Oceania.

That scale makes the reliability of the Vancouver export corridor a material factor not only for Canadian producers but also for fertilizer buyers in countries including Brazil, China, India and Indonesia.

From Saskatchewan mines to Vancouver vessels

(more…)

Swiss engineering group Casale has signed a contract to engineer and supply a 100 tonnes-per-day modular green ammonia plant in Norway for Neptun Glomfjord Green Ammonia AS (NGGA), the company announced on September 23. The facility will be built at Glomfjord Industrial Park in northern Norway.

NGGA is a Norwegian project company developing green ammonia at the park, relying on the region’s renewable power and existing industrial infrastructure to serve local ammonia demand. Casale will deliver the plant under an engineering, procurement and fabrication (EPF) model using its proprietary SMART-N technology. The company developed that process specifically for small-scale ammonia production based on renewable hydrogen, and says it offers a wide operating range at an affordable levelized cost of ammonia.

The plant will be fabricated as modules largely off-site, which Casale said is intended to reduce the volume and complexity of construction work at Glomfjord. At 100 tonnes per day, the unit would produce roughly 36,500 tonnes a year if run at full capacity year-round, a Fertilizer Daily calculation.

The ammonia will not stop at the plant gate. Third parties will process it into nitric acid, ammonium nitrate-sulfate (ANS) and fertilizers, linking the project to a lower-carbon nitrogen value chain in Norway. Casale did not disclose the contract value or a start-up date.

Small-scale, modular ammonia is attracting growing interest as a way to cut capital risk for renewable projects. Earlier this month, Ammobia and Lummus agreed to commercialize modular ammonia production, while on the demand side food companies formed an alliance to buy green ammonia fertilizer.

Source: World Fertilizer

Indian Potash Limited (IPL) has launched a new India urea tender to import 1.7 million tonnes of fertilizer-grade urea, and it has already shortened the delivery window. The state-linked importer floated the tender on September 23 on behalf of the Department of Fertilizers, and an amendment issued the same day moved the latest permissible sailing date from December 15 to December 1, according to Rural Voice.

Of the total, 1 million tonnes is earmarked for West Coast ports and 700,000 tonnes for the East Coast. Suppliers can offer prilled or granular urea with at least 46% nitrogen, but a single vessel cannot carry both forms. Offers are due electronically by 11:30 a.m. on October 7, with price bids opened at 12:30 p.m. the same day. Offers must stay valid until October 15.

IPL will accept both FOB and CFR terms and evaluate each coast separately, which means it can split volumes among several suppliers. Producers are exempt from bid bonds, while accredited suppliers must post $3 per tonne and other bidders $10 per tonne. Performance guarantees range from 1% to 10% of contract value, and the tender states that late shipments can trigger liquidated damages or cancellation.

The tender lands as India’s landed urea costs have eased sharply from their spring peak, as Fertilizer Daily reported when India’s urea import costs fell 57%. Supply is also shaped by China, where a 3.3 million tonne export quota and FOB price floors set the tone for fourth-quarter trade. The October 7 price bids will be the next benchmark for Asian urea values.

Source: Rural Voice

Rallying corn and soybean prices have not eased financial stress on U.S. farms, according to a new NCGA-ASA farmer survey released on September 22. Nine in ten growers, or 90%, said they are more or equally concerned about their farm finances than a year ago, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and American Soybean Association (ASA) reported.

Farm Journal polled more than 1,200 corn and soybean growers between September 1 and 8. Some 46% said they were more concerned about their finances than a year ago, down from 65% in last year’s survey, DTN reported. Two-thirds, 66%, were moderately or very concerned about the farm economy, and 26% were unsure how they would handle higher projected input costs for the 2027 crop.

Profit expectations are thin. Only 41% of corn respondents expect the crop to be at least marginally profitable, and 10% expect clear profitability. Fuel and energy ranked as the top input concern, with fertilizer averaging above 4 on a five-point scale. When the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz lifted fertilizer prices, 35% of growers had already locked in production decisions, NCGA said.

NCGA Chief Economist Krista Swanson told AgWeb that the 90% figure was “a really staggering statistic” given that farm-crisis warnings were already circulating a year ago. She said that stronger corn prices lift sentiment, but profitability does not reset with one market move.

The findings echo AFBF and CoBank warnings that high fertilizer prices are structural and the concerns raised when 170 farmers confronted USDA over fertilizer pricing in Iowa. The White House is exploring alternative supply, including a potash deal with Belarus that President Trump announced on September 21.

Source: AgWeb

What the NCGA-ASA farmer survey shows

Salt-affected cropland is leaking far more fertilizer nitrogen into the environment than previously quantified, and fixing it could be one of agriculture’s largest untapped nitrogen savings. A global analysis published in Nature Food finds that saline soils nitrogen losses are 61% higher than on comparable non-saline land, and that ten established management practices could cut those losses by 59%, or about 2.5 million tonnes of nitrogen a year, while raising crop output.

The study, led by Wen Wen and Baojing Gu of Zhejiang University with colleagues at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and the University of Maryland, estimates net global benefits of $24.5 billion a year, with an uncertainty range of plus or minus $11.8 billion. For fertilizer suppliers and agronomists, the finding frames salinity as a nutrient-efficiency problem as well as a yield problem.

Why saline soils nitrogen losses are so high

More than a billion hectares of farmland are affected by salt, which builds up in the root zone as irrigation water evaporates and saline groundwater moves inland. The researchers built a spatially explicit nitrogen budget for the world’s saline croplands at a 0.5-degree resolution, combining a global soil salinity map with European Space Agency cropland data, the IMAGE integrated assessment model, the CHANS nitrogen budget model and MODIS satellite vegetation data.

By pairing salt-affected and unaffected fields, the team isolated the salinity effect. Salinity raised nitrogen inputs on affected cropland by 13% while cutting the nitrogen harvested in crops by 7%. In practice, farmers apply more fertilizer to offset weak yields, but stressed crops and soil microbes take up less of it.

The surplus escapes as ammonia volatilization, nitrous oxide, nitrogen oxides and nitrate leaching. Salt stress suppresses the microbial communities that drive nitrification and denitrification, and impairs root growth and water uptake. The nitrous oxide share matters for climate accounting, since the gas is roughly 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a century.

Ten practices to cut saline soils nitrogen losses

The authors synthesized ten categories of salinity management from field studies. They range from improved irrigation and drainage that flush salts below the root zone, to soil amendments such as biochar, to biological approaches including halophyte-based remediation and salt-tolerant crop varieties. Widespread adoption would reduce annual reactive nitrogen losses from saline croplands by 59% and lift crop production at the same time.

The scale is notable. A 2.5 million tonne annual nitrogen saving is comparable to the total mitigation potential of some entire national farm systems, a comparison that suggests saline soil management deserves a place alongside fertilizer optimization and manure management in nitrogen pollution control.

Where the gains are concentrated

Benefits cluster in large irrigated basins. China, Pakistan and Indonesia have the biggest aggregate mitigation opportunities, reflecting the extent of salt-affected irrigated land in their major river systems. Egypt stands out for the highest benefits per hectare, driven by intensive irrigated farming and severe salinity in the Nile Delta.

For the fertilizer industry, those markets combine high nitrogen use with poor efficiency on salt-affected land. Better salinity management would not necessarily mean less fertilizer sold, but more of each tonne applied would end up in the crop. That aligns with the broader shift toward nutrient use efficiency that regulators and buyers increasingly expect.

Limits and what comes next

Constraints remain. The ten practice categories differ widely in cost, technical difficulty and suitability across soils and water regimes, and effect sizes from field trials may not transfer evenly to every salt-affected landscape. Drainage and leaching schemes need water infrastructure that many smallholder systems lack, and amendments like biochar remain costly at scale.

The findings add to a growing body of work linking soil biology to nitrogen efficiency, including recent research showing that soil microbiome predators can boost plant biomass and may cut nitrogen fertilizer needs. The authors argue that saline soil restoration fits climate-smart agriculture and climate finance, since it raises output, cuts emissions and returns a net economic gain. Whether governments in the most affected basins fund drainage and soil programs at scale will decide how much of the modeled saving turns into real reductions. The full paper is available via Nature Food.

Source: Bioengineer.org

Belarus potash is heading back to the United States, but not on the scale President Donald Trump suggested. After Trump said on September 21 that Washington was working on a “massive” deal to buy cheaper potash from Belarus, Minsk and market analysts signaled that volumes will stay limited, RFE/RL reported.

Belarusian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko said on September 21 that the country has no spare volumes for new Western markets because everything is already contracted. About 27% of Belarus’s potash trade goes to China, with Brazil and India among other key buyers. Belarus produced some 6 million tonnes of potash in 2025, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Some product is moving. Argus reported that a 30,000 tonne cargo, the first Belarusian fertilizer shipment to the U.S. in four years, is due in New Orleans next month. Before sanctions, Belarus covered about 5% of U.S. potash needs, while Canada supplied 79% of U.S. imports from 2021 to 2024, USGS data show.

Logistics are the main barrier. The EU has not lifted its own sanctions, and Lithuania has said it sees no reason to reopen Klaipeda to Belarusian potash, leaving Russian rail and ports as the main export route. Russian terminals are already busy with grain, coal and Russia’s own potash. StoneX analyst Josh Linville told Reuters the U.S. has not struggled to find potash. Analyst Andrei Makhovsky added that Belaruskali mainly produces pink potash, while U.S. buyers mostly use white.

Canada’s rail-based supply advantage remains intact, a factor Fertilizer Daily examined as the U.S.-Canada trade war threatened potash flows. With the U.S. still 92% reliant on imported potash, the October arrival will test whether Belarusian cargoes can compete on delivered cost.

Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Australia phosphate prices face growing uncertainty for the 2027 winter cropping season, as the Middle East conflict keeps supply and pricing risks elevated, according to an Argus Media report cited by World Fertilizer. Australian importers usually arrange the season’s first MAP and DAP shipments for November loading, but high prices and bearish sentiment are prompting many to delay purchases.

The price gap is wide. Argus last assessed MAP at $802–836 per tonne FOB Saudi Arabia, up 28% from the start of November 2025. Saudi Arabia matters directly to Australian buyers. About 30% of the country’s MAP/DAP imports came from Saudi Arabia via the Strait of Hormuz in 2025, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics trade data.

Buyers are splitting into two camps. Some are locking in MAP/DAP and urea cargoes for early-2027 collection, while others are waiting until growers need product, suppliers told Argus. Because Australia has had little seasonal MAP/DAP demand since the war began, domestic prices have been partly shielded from global increases. That buffer disappears if importers buy at current levels, since they would have to lift domestic offers. The National Farmers Federation told Argus on September 22 that farmers will remain cautious heading into the next buying season.

Sulfur is a second pressure point. The Middle East supplies a large share of global sulfur, and high sulfur costs have raised phosphate production costs worldwide, a trend Fertilizer Daily tracked as sulfur topped $1,000 per tonne. Domestic supply is also limited. Australia’s only ammonium phosphate producer depends on Phosphate Hill, which the government backed with a $105 million loan earlier this year. November purchasing decisions will show how much of the global increase reaches Australian growers.

Source: World Fertilizer

India has returned to the global urea market with a new tender for 1.7 million metric tons, setting up another major test for nitrogen prices just as global benchmarks have started to rebound from their summer lows.

Indian Potash Limited (IPL) issued the tender on September 23, seeking 1.0 million tonnes of granular or prilled urea for ports on India’s west coast and 700,000 tonnes for the east coast. Bids are due on October 7, with shipments scheduled through December 15.

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India has made its first farm-level soil carbon payments, with 2,550 smallholder farmers in Punjab and Haryana receiving more than $303,000 through direct benefit transfers for adopting regenerative farming practices. The payments were launched at Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana on September 16–17 by M.L. Jat, director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), according to The Tribune.

The payments are part of Aadi, a farmer carbon program launched in 2019 by Grow Indigo, a joint venture between Mahyco and Indigo Ag, with technical guidance from ICAR. Farmers participating in the program between 2019 and 2022 adopted practices including direct-seeded rice, reduced tillage and crop-residue management. The resulting greenhouse gas reductions and increases in soil carbon were measured and independently verified before carbon credits were issued under the Verra VM0042 methodology.

The first credit issuance covered about 30,000 acres and generated more than 50,000 carbon credits. Farmers received between INR 3,000 and INR 15,000, equivalent to approximately $31–$157, depending on the number of credits generated by their fields. Farmers who joined the program after 2022 are expected to receive payments during subsequent monitoring and credit-issuance cycles.

Carbon payments linked to farming practices

Grow Indigo said the Aadi program now covers more than 2 million acres and more than 100,000 farmers across seven Indian states. For fields enrolled during the 2019–2022 period, the program estimates that the farming practices saved about 45 billion liters of water and kept more than 200,000 tonnes of crop residue from being burned. The program also estimates that the avoided residue burning prevented about 1,000 tonnes of PM2.5 emissions.

The payment mechanism is intended to give farmers an additional source of income while encouraging practices associated with lower water use, improved soil health and reduced crop-residue burning. Grow Indigo Executive Director Usha Barwale Zehr said farmers were paid according to their share of the carbon credits generated by their fields.

The first payments also highlight one of the challenges of agricultural carbon markets: the time required to measure, verify and issue credits. Farmers participating in the initial Aadi period adopted the relevant practices several years before receiving their first carbon payments.

More rapid and scalable soil-carbon measurement could potentially reduce that gap by making verification more efficient. Technologies such as Biome Makers’ soil carbon capacity model are among the approaches being developed to improve soil-carbon assessment.

Source: The Tribune

The Asia Biologicals Platform has moved into deployment with its first three crop programs in Southeast Asia, covering rice, cassava and cocoa, according to an announcement reported by Global Agriculture on September 22.

The three crops were chosen as deliberately different starting points: rice as Asia’s main staple, cassava as a major industrial crop, and cocoa as a globally traded value chain. The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and CABI serve as scientific and institutional partners. Thai Wah Public Company Limited, Mars and Salim’s agrochemicals division join as crop deployment partners, bringing production, commercialization and distribution perspectives.

The Asia Biologicals Platform tries to fix a common weakness in biological inputs: products are often validated in isolation, with commercialization considered only later. Instead, the platform brings scientists, farmers and industry together around defined agronomic problems from the start. Joshua Soo, co-founder of Agrifood Futures, said the aim is to generate evidence that can be compared across countries and production environments, so each deployment is better informed than the last.

For nutrient and biostimulant suppliers, comparable multi-country data could lower one of the main barriers to adoption in Asia: inconsistent performance claims. Programs like this also build on product-level launches such as BioWorks’ BioRain Ax microbial inoculant. The platform has not disclosed funding levels, trial sites or which biological products will be tested.

Source: Global Agriculture

Brazil remained the largest major fertilizer-import market by physical volume in the first half of 2026, followed by the United States, India, China and Australia, according to customs-based trade data compiled across the five largest country-level import markets from 2025.

Together, the five countries imported approximately 57.7 million metric tons of fertilizers in January-June 2026. The ranking also shows a sharp divergence in demand: Brazil and the United States imported slightly less than a year earlier, while India, China and Australia increased purchases.

The shift matters because 2026 has been shaped by unusually high fertilizer prices, the disruption of Persian Gulf trade routes, tighter nitrogen availability and changes in phosphate and potash flows. These conditions have forced the world’s largest agricultural buyers to adjust procurement strategies, supplier mixes and timing.

Top 5 fertilizer importing countries in H1 2026

Methodology: the ranking starts with the five largest country-level fertilizer importers by trade value in 2025 according to World Bank WITS/UN Comtrade — Brazil, India, the United States, China and Australia — and reorders them by physical fertilizer import volume during January-June 2026. The European Union is excluded because it is a multi-country bloc. Fertilizers are measured under HS Chapter 31. H1 values for the United States, China and Australia are calculated from published January-July totals minus July shipments.

1. Brazil — 18.31 million tonnes

Brazil remained the largest fertilizer-import market in the ranking, bringing in approximately 18.31 million tonnes during the first six months of 2026.

That was about 5.7% lower than the 19.42 million tonnes imported during the same period of 2025. Higher international prices and tighter producer margins have encouraged Brazilian buyers to delay some purchases and adjust the nutrient mix.

Brazil’s structural import dependence remains exceptionally high. The country’s large soybean, corn, sugarcane and coffee sectors require volumes of nitrogen, phosphate and potash that domestic production cannot currently supply.

The composition of Brazilian nitrogen demand has also been changing. Fertilizer Daily reported earlier in 2026 that Brazilian ammonium sulfate imports had overtaken urea volumes as buyers responded to relative nutrient economics.

Phosphate supply has become another pressure point. Brazilian phosphate availability tightened in the second half of 2026 as sulfur costs increased and some domestic production was disrupted.

Brazil’s ranking therefore reflects both the scale of its agricultural sector and one of the highest levels of fertilizer import dependence among major crop-producing economies.

2. United States — 14.44 million tonnes

The United States ranked second with approximately 14.44 million tonnes of fertilizer imports in the first half of 2026, down roughly 2.7% from a year earlier.

Potash accounts for a particularly large share of inbound volume. The United States remains heavily dependent on Canadian potash, while nitrogen products such as urea and ammonia are sourced from a much broader group of suppliers.

Trade disruptions in the Persian Gulf exposed another vulnerability in the U.S. supply chain. Fertilizer Daily reported that U.S. fertilizer shipments from Hormuz-affected ports fell sharply in May, particularly affecting nitrogen and phosphate supply.

Despite substantial domestic ammonia, nitrogen and phosphate production, the scale of U.S. crop agriculture means imports remain essential for balancing regional nutrient demand.

The import mix may also change over the longer term as the United States evaluates new domestic potash and nitrogen projects and seeks alternative supply routes.

3. India — 9.94 million tonnes

India recorded the strongest absolute increase among the largest buyers, with fertilizer imports rising to approximately 9.94 million tonnes in January-June 2026 from 7.54 million tonnes a year earlier.

That represents growth of almost 32%.

The increase was driven mainly by nitrogen fertilizer demand. India’s domestic fertilizer system is large, but the country continues to rely heavily on imported urea, DAP, MOP and raw materials to maintain subsidized supplies for farmers.

The Persian Gulf disruption increased this reliance during 2026. IFPRI data show that India’s nitrogen fertilizer imports rose by more than 1.1 million tonnes during the first half of the year as reduced Gulf supply and constraints on domestic gas availability reshaped procurement.

India has responded with large international tenders and long-term supply arrangements. Fertilizer Daily reported in September that Indian state buyers had secured millions of tonnes of imported urea while landed costs fell sharply from their May peak.

India’s import growth is particularly important for the global urea market because large tenders can redirect cargoes across several exporting regions at once.

4. China — 9.61 million tonnes

China ranked fourth by estimated first-half import volume at approximately 9.61 million tonnes, up about 39% from the comparable 2025 period.

The increase may appear surprising because China is also one of the world’s largest fertilizer producers and exporters. The explanation lies largely in product composition.

China imports large quantities of potash because domestic potassium resources are insufficient to cover the requirements of its agricultural sector. Potassium chloride dominates fertilizer imports, while China simultaneously exports significant volumes of nitrogen fertilizers and other products.

Preliminary China Customs data show the trend continued after June: fertilizer imports reached 11.02 million tonnes in January-July 2026, up 44.7% year on year.

At the same time, export policy has been unusually important for international markets. China restricted exports of several phosphate fertilizer products during 2026, while changes in urea export availability repeatedly affected international pricing.

China therefore occupies an unusual position in the ranking: it is simultaneously a major importer of potash and a major potential exporter of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers.

5. Australia — 5.39 million tonnes

Australia imported approximately 5.39 million tonnes of fertilizers in the first half of 2026, around 10% more than during the same period of 2025.

Nitrogen fertilizer dominates the country’s import requirements, particularly urea used across grain and broadacre cropping regions.

Australia was among the import markets most exposed to disruption in Persian Gulf shipping. The country normally sources a large proportion of agricultural urea through supply chains linked to the Gulf, forcing the government and private importers to secure alternative cargoes during the 2026 disruption.

Indonesia became an important alternative supplier. A first 47,250-tonne Indonesian urea cargo arrived in Australia in June under a broader government-supported supply agreement.

The episode illustrates why import volume alone does not fully measure fertilizer-market risk. Australia imports less fertilizer than Brazil or the United States, but its dependence on overseas nitrogen supply and long shipping routes can make supply disruptions disproportionately important.

India and China are changing the 2026 ranking fastest

The biggest shift in the first-half data is not at the top of the table but in Asia.

India increased fertilizer imports by approximately 2.40 million tonnes year on year, while China added roughly 2.68 million tonnes. Combined, the two countries imported more than 5 million additional tonnes compared with the first half of 2025.

By contrast, Brazil and the United States collectively reduced imports by around 1.5 million tonnes.

Across all five markets, imports increased from approximately 53.6 million tonnes in H1 2025 to 57.7 million tonnes in H1 2026, an increase of roughly 7.6%.

This divergence helps explain why global fertilizer markets can remain tight even when demand weakens in individual regions. Lower buying in Brazil or the United States can be offset by stronger procurement from India and China.

Why the rankings matter for fertilizer prices

The five markets in this ranking influence international fertilizer prices far beyond their individual borders.

Large tenders from India can redirect urea cargoes from the Middle East, China, Russia or Southeast Asia. Brazilian purchases can determine the destination of granular urea and potash cargoes during the second half of the year. U.S. potash demand is closely linked to Canadian supply, while Australia competes with Asian markets for imported nitrogen.

China has an additional role because it operates on both sides of the trade balance. Changes in Chinese export policy can alter global supply at the same time as the country increases its own potash imports.

The result is an increasingly interconnected fertilizer market in which changes in one major importing country can quickly affect freight rates, tender prices and availability elsewhere.

2026 fertilizer trade is being reshaped by supply risk

The first half of 2026 was unusually disruptive for global fertilizer trade.

The closure and subsequent disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz affected nitrogen and raw-material flows from the Persian Gulf. IFPRI found that nitrogen fertilizer imports declined sharply in several markets during the first half of the year, while India increased purchases as domestic and regional supply became constrained.

The WTO has also highlighted the exposure of major agricultural importers to Gulf fertilizer supply, particularly India, Australia, Brazil and the United States.

At the same time, phosphate export controls, potash supply concentration and higher sulfur prices added pressure outside the nitrogen market.

These forces mean the final full-year 2026 ranking may differ from the first-half table. Brazil traditionally imports large fertilizer volumes later in the year, while procurement cycles in India, the United States and Australia are strongly seasonal.

What to watch through the end of 2026

• Brazil: whether delayed purchasing produces a stronger import wave ahead of the 2026/27 crop season.
• United States: fall application demand, potash sourcing and nitrogen import costs.
• India: additional urea tenders and the balance between domestic production and imports.
• China: potash import growth and policy governing urea and phosphate exports.
• Australia: diversification of urea supply away from Gulf-dependent routes.

Because the ranking is based on first-half data, it should be treated as a 2026 year-to-date snapshot rather than a final annual table. Fertilizer Daily will be able to update the ranking once complete 2026 customs data are available.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: World Bank WITS / UN Comtrade, TESEO — Brazil, TESEO — United States, TESEO — India, TESEO — Australia, China Customs trade data, IFPRI, WTO

BASF Agricultural Solutions and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) have extended OPTIMA Rice, their joint program on low-emission rice farming, into a second phase focused on soil health, according to a BASF release issued in early September.

OPTIMA Rice, short for Optimizing Management for Reduction of Greenhouse Gases in Rice, launched in 2024 with field trials in Laguna, the Philippines. The first phase showed that alternate wetting and drying (AWD) combined with direct-seeded rice cut methane emissions and irrigation water use without reducing yields, according to the partners. Improved straw management provided a further lever to curb emissions.

Phase two moves below ground. The partners will study how changes in water management affect soil carbon and nitrogen over time, testing whether methane-cutting practices also maintain soil fertility and productivity. They will also evaluate biochar as a way to store carbon while improving soil fertility and structure.

Marko Grozdanovic, senior vice president for global strategic marketing and sustainability at BASF Agricultural Solutions, said climate-smart rice systems must work on the farm, not just on paper.

For nitrogen suppliers, the nitrogen-dynamics work matters most. Intermittent flooding alters how applied nitrogen cycles through paddy soils, which could reshape fertilizer timing and product choice as AWD scales up. The findings are meant to be transferable to other rice producers, including India, China, Italy and Brazil. The research also adds to growing efforts on nutrient efficiency, such as the FFAR’s $9.3 million in fertilizer efficiency grants.

Two RNA bioinsecticide candidates developed by AgroSpheres and FMC Corporation have entered global field trials in the United States, Brazil and Asia, the companies announced on September 17. The move shifts the program from discovery into testing under commercial growing conditions.

The candidates target lepidopteran pests including fall armyworm and diamondback moth. Major moth and caterpillar species account for nearly $14 billion a year in global crop losses and control costs, according to the companies. The biomolecules came out of a collaboration first announced in 2024.

Before advancing, the candidates went through laboratory, greenhouse and small-plot testing, where they were benchmarked against industry-standard chemistries and met or exceeded those benchmarks, AgroSpheres said. The field phase will test them across different crops, climates and pest pressures, and as partners to conventional insecticides in resistance-management programs.

The technology rests on AgroSpheres’ biomodality platform, which designs RNA molecules that act on specific biological pathways in a target pest, and its AgriCell delivery system, which protects the active and controls its release. Field durability has long been the hurdle for sprayable RNA, since unprotected molecules break down quickly in sunlight.

Seva Rostovtsev, FMC’s chief technology officer, said field trials are where promising technologies show their real-world potential. The trials add to a crowded biologicals pipeline, following Syngenta’s protozoan-based biocontrol deal with Amoéba. Neither company has given a commercial launch date.

Source: Global Agriculture

Agtech company Arevo has reported new field-trial results for its Arginex Corn seed treatment, saying the product delivered up to 4.3% higher grain yields when standard nitrogen fertilizer rates were reduced by 30%. The trials were conducted by independent contract research organizations across France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland and Brazil in 2024 and 2025.

The results also included trials in which Arginex maintained yields at reduced fertilizer rates. In South American trials, Arevo said the full fertilizer program was matched with 40% less nitrogen and phosphorus, with the differences reported as statistically significant at all three sites at p<0.001. When used alongside full standard fertilizer rates, Arginex produced an average 3.4% increase in grain yield, with up to 3.8% at an individual site.

Yield gains under lower nitrogen rates

According to Arevo, one European trial in 2025 recorded a 4.3% grain-yield increase compared with full-rate standard practice despite a 30% reduction in standard nitrogen fertilizer. The company said the result was statistically significant.

Other trials showed that corn treated with Arginex could achieve yields comparable with full-rate standard practice while receiving 30% less nitrogen. The company also reported results for silage corn, with whole-plant biomass increasing by up to 4.7% when nitrogen application was reduced by 25%.

The trials covered different soil pH levels and soil textures and used replicated, multi-treatment factorial designs. Arevo said statistical analysis was used to assess the treatment effects.

The company reported no negative effect on germination and said plant height increased by as much as 8% in some trials.

The findings are relevant to fertilizer-efficiency strategies as growers and input companies face pressure to maintain crop productivity while reducing nutrient use. Nitrogen is among the largest variable input costs for many corn producers, while improving nitrogen-use efficiency is also a focus of efforts to reduce nutrient losses and the environmental impact of fertilizer application.

Non-microbial seed treatment

Arginex Corn is based on arginine combined with phosphate in what Arevo describes as a stable, slow-release complex. According to the company, plants can take up the compound intact without prior mineralization.

The formulation differs from microbial seed treatments because it does not contain living organisms. Arevo said the single-compound formulation is designed to provide consistent composition between batches, while also offering long shelf life, seed stability and compatibility with conventional seed-treatment programs.

The company also says the arginine can support soil biology by attracting mycorrhizal fungi and promoting root development. These claims are part of Arevo’s explanation for the yield and plant-growth effects observed in its trials.

The company’s CEO, Niklas Åström, said the trial results indicate that the technology can improve nitrogen-use efficiency under different field conditions.

“The data show it consistently improves yield and nitrogen use efficiency — more crop per unit of nitrogen, season after season,” Åström said.

Arevo linked the results to growing concerns over weather variability, including heatwaves, droughts, heavy rainfall and flooding affecting agricultural production in Europe and South America. The company said its trials were designed across multiple environments rather than under a single set of growing conditions.

Arevo targets seed-treatment partnerships

Arevo is seeking commercial partners for corn products and for upcoming wheat seed-coating products. The company plans to present the full set of trial results at the Euroseeds Congress 2026 in Valencia, Spain, on Oct. 25–28.

The company said its Arginex technology is protected by more than 70 patents and has received CE marking. Arevo is developing the technology for applications in agriculture, forestry and horticulture, with the stated goal of reducing reliance on synthetic fertilizers and improving nutrient and water uptake.

The latest results are based on company-reported trials, and the full methodology, individual site data and statistical results are expected to provide additional context when Arevo presents the complete dataset at the Euroseeds Congress.

The owner of the European Union trademark AMINOSPEED, Kiss Iosif Karoly, has escalated a dispute over the use of the designation by SF DeltaChem Iberia, DeltaChem International and Kingenta, according to a September 11 press release. The trademark owner says he has filed a criminal complaint with the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in Almería and initiated European Union customs protection measures over what he describes as unauthorized use of the AMINOSPEED trademark. The claims have not been adjudicated by a court.

According to the release, Karoly holds EUTM No. 019354444 and sent formal notices to the three companies on August 11, requesting that they stop using the AMINOSPEED name and provide information about the legal basis for their use of the designation, including any registrations, licenses, authorizations or agreements. The trademark owner also said he was preparing potential civil claims for damages. The EU customs measure, according to the release, allows authorities to intervene when goods suspected of carrying the trademark without authorization are identified, but does not itself establish that an infringement has occurred.

SF DeltaChem Iberia General Manager Angelo Tjhie disputed the account in a response to Fertilizer Daily. “I have put it in the hands of a lawyer,” he said. “For your information, we have been selling Aminospeed long before the registration by the other entity.” The response indicates that DeltaChem disputes the trademark owner’s characterization of its use of the AMINOSPEED name, but does not provide further details about the company’s legal position.

The trademark owner’s release identifies SF DeltaChem Iberia as the manufacturer of the product marketed under the AMINOSPEED designation, while it says DeltaChem International is responsible for the relevant website and Kingenta promotes the product through its international commercial infrastructure. The release also states that alerts concerning the alleged unauthorized use were submitted through the EU IP Enforcement Portal to several European authorities, while explicitly noting that such notifications do not constitute findings of liability or guilt.

The central issue in the dispute is therefore whether the companies had a legal basis to use the AMINOSPEED designation and, as DeltaChem asserts, whether their commercial use predates the trademark registration relied upon by Karoly. The available statements establish the parties’ differing positions but do not resolve the underlying trademark dispute.

American Critical Minerals has completed its first confirmation drill hole at the Green River Project in Utah and reported the presence of sylvite mineralization in the targeted Cycle 5 potash horizon, adding new geological evidence to a U.S. fertilizer market that remains heavily dependent on imported potash.

The company said the Duma Point AP-S-02 well reached a total depth of 2,818 metres (9,245 feet) on September 13, 2026. Initial core inspection and downhole geophysical logging confirmed sylvite within the Cycle 5 potash bed, while laboratory assays are still pending.

The timing is significant for U.S. agriculture. According to the latest U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries, the United States remained approximately 92% net import reliant on potash in 2025, with Canada accounting for the majority of U.S. imports.

Utah drilling confirms the targeted Cycle 5 potash horizon

The new well was drilled at American Critical Minerals’ Green River Project approximately 20 miles northwest of Moab, Utah, in the Paradox Basin.

According to American Critical Minerals, the purpose of the well was to test historic potash data and collect fresh core from the Paradox Formation while also evaluating deeper brine-bearing zones for lithium and bromine.

The company reported three main findings:

• sylvite mineralization was visually identified within the Cycle 5 potash bed;
• wireline geophysical logs indicate the target interval occurs at depths and apparent thicknesses consistent with historic drilling nearby;
• brine samples were recovered from the Paradox and Leadville formations for lithium and bromine analysis.

The Cycle 5 core is now being prepared for detailed geochemical analysis at the Saskatchewan Research Council in Canada.

This distinction is important: the current announcement confirms the presence of the target mineralization, but final potash grades from the new well have not yet been published.

Historic drilling reported 24.3% KCl over 5.9 metres

The Duma Point well was positioned approximately 2,000 feet from the historic Quintana Fed 1-1 well.

That older well reported an estimated potassium chloride grade of 24.3% KCl over 5.9 metres (19.4 feet) in the Cycle 5 potash interval.

American Critical Minerals said the new wireline responses show a strong correlation with the depths and apparent thicknesses recorded in the historic hole. However, the company also cautions that historic results have not yet been fully verified by current drilling and laboratory analysis.

Why domestic potash matters for U.S. fertilizer supply

Potash is one of the three primary crop nutrients, together with nitrogen and phosphorus, and there is no substitute for potassium as an essential plant nutrient.

The United States has substantial geological potash resources but relatively little domestic production compared with agricultural consumption.

USGS estimates show that in 2025 the United States produced approximately 500,000 tonnes of K₂O equivalent while importing about 5.6 million tonnes. Apparent consumption was approximately 5.9 million tonnes.

Canada supplied approximately 79% of U.S. potash imports over the 2021-2024 period, according to USGS data.

That concentration has become more important during 2026 as fertilizer costs and trade relations have increased attention on the resilience of U.S. nutrient supply chains.

Fertilizer Daily recently examined U.S. dependence on Canadian potash and the limited number of alternative suppliers capable of replacing Canadian volumes at scale.

Potash is now a U.S. critical mineral

Potash was added to the final U.S. Critical Minerals List in November 2025.

The U.S. Geological Survey identified potash as one of the mineral supply chains with the highest assessed disruption risk.

USGS analysis found that approximately 90% of U.S. net potash imports in 2023 originated in Canada, making the country’s fertilizer supply unusually dependent on a single foreign source.

The designation does not mean that every domestic potash exploration project will become commercially viable. It does, however, increase the strategic relevance of projects capable of expanding U.S. production over the long term.

Green River covers more than 32,000 acres

American Critical Minerals controls a combination of Utah state leases, federal potash prospecting permits and federal lithium brine claims across the Green River Project.

The company’s current project position includes:

• 11 Utah SITLA mineral and mineral-salt leases covering approximately 7,050 acres;
• 11 federal potash prospecting permits covering approximately 25,480 acres;
• 1,094 federal lithium brine claims covering approximately 21,150 acres;
• a combined project footprint of approximately 32,530 acres.

The company is currently authorized to drill up to seven holes across the project.

Earlier this year, Fertilizer Daily reported that American Critical Minerals had received its final federal potash prospecting permits, clearing the way for the 2026 drilling program.

The project is close to existing Utah potash operations

The Green River acreage lies within Utah’s Paradox Basin, a region with a long history of potash and energy development.

Existing potash production near Moab provides important geological context for the project, although results from neighboring operations cannot be assumed to apply directly to Green River.

The wider Paradox Basin contains an estimated 2 billion tonnes of potash resources, according to USGS.

Existing infrastructure is another potential advantage. The Green River Project is close to highways, rail connections, towns, industrial services and agricultural markets across the western and central United States.

The exploration target is large — but it is not yet a mineral resource

American Critical Minerals has published an exploration target for Green River of approximately 500 million to 950 million tonnes of sylvinite grading an estimated 12% to 18% K₂O, equivalent to approximately 19% to 29% KCl.

Those figures are based on historical well information and geological interpretation.

They should not be confused with a formal mineral resource or reserve.

The company’s January 2026 NI 43-101 technical report explicitly states that the exploration target is conceptual in nature, that insufficient exploration has been completed to define a mineral resource, and that further drilling may or may not result in a resource being established.

The current Duma Point drill program is therefore important because it begins replacing historical assumptions with modern core, geophysical logs and laboratory data.

Utah is only one part of the U.S. domestic potash push

Green River is not the only U.S. project seeking to increase domestic potash production.

Michigan Potash & Salt is developing a proposed large-scale project in Michigan with planned capacity of approximately 800,000 tonnes per year of potash. If built and operated at design capacity, the project could supply a meaningful share of U.S. demand.

In New Mexico, existing potash mining and processing operations remain another important component of domestic supply.

The comparison highlights the scale of the challenge. Even substantial new U.S. projects would be entering a market where imports currently exceed domestic production by more than tenfold.

Domestic supply could reduce concentration risk, not eliminate imports

A commercially successful Green River project could eventually contribute to diversification of U.S. potash supply, but it would not make the country self-sufficient on its own.

The U.S. fertilizer market consumes millions of tonnes of potash annually, while Canada’s Saskatchewan industry operates at a scale far larger than current U.S. production.

For that reason, domestic expansion is more realistically viewed as a way to:

• increase supply diversity;
• reduce exposure to individual trade routes or suppliers;
• provide additional regional fertilizer supply;
• shorten transportation distances to some U.S. agricultural markets;
• create additional competition in the domestic potash market.

The United States is likely to remain a major potash importer even if several proposed domestic projects reach production.

Potash prices remain comparatively stable in 2026

Potash has been less volatile than nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers during much of 2026.

The latest U.S. fertilizer price data tracked by Fertilizer Daily showed potash averaging approximately $495 per ton in mid-September, around 2% higher than one year earlier.

That relative price stability does not remove the strategic supply issue. Potash prices can still be affected by trade policy, sanctions, rail logistics and production changes in major suppliers including Canada, Russia and Belarus.

What happens next at Green River

The most important next step is laboratory analysis of the recovered Cycle 5 core.

Results from the Saskatchewan Research Council should provide a direct modern measurement of:

• potassium chloride grade;
• mineralized interval thickness;
• potash mineralogy;
• correlation with historic wells;
• the potential basis for additional drilling.

Brine samples from the Paradox and Leadville formations are also being analyzed separately for lithium and bromine.

If laboratory results support the historic potash data, American Critical Minerals will still need substantially more drilling, technical studies, resource definition, permitting and economic analysis before a commercial development decision could be considered.

For U.S. fertilizer supply, however, the new drilling provides another data point in a broader effort to determine whether domestic potash projects can eventually reduce one of the country’s highest agricultural mineral import dependencies.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: American Critical Minerals, USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, USGS Critical Minerals List

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service has awarded $13.5 million through its Assisting Specialty Crop Exports initiative to address non-tariff barriers affecting U.S. specialty crop exports. The funding includes a $10 million, five-year partnership with the IR-4 Project at North Carolina State University to generate data for Codex Alimentarius standards and support research on pesticide residue mitigation.

The USDA is also providing $3 million to support the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which develops international maximum residue limits (MRLs) used to facilitate agricultural trade. Another $500,000 project with Bryant Christie will analyze biopesticide regulatory and residue requirements in foreign markets, giving U.S. producers additional information on market-access requirements.

The ASCE initiative targets regulatory and other non-tariff barriers affecting fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, horticultural products and other specialty crops. Its projects are designed to benefit entire industries or product categories rather than individual companies and include work on foreign standards, certifications, import requirements and international regulatory harmonization.