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Who Leads the Global Fertilizer Trade?

The global food supply depends on a fertilizer trade concentrated among a relatively small group of countries.

Farmers use fertilizers to replenish nutrients and support crop growth. Producing them at scale depends heavily on access to key mineral deposits and energy resources.

This visualization ranks the world’s largest fertilizer exporters using the latest figures available (2024) from the Food and Agriculture Organization. It combines nitrogen, phosphate, and potash exports, measured by nutrient content rather than the full weight of fertilizer products.

The Big Four Fertilizer Exporters

Global fertilizer exports topped 113.3 million tonnes in 2024, with the four largest exporters accounting for more than half of the total.

Russia leads the ranking with 23.2 million tonnes, followed by Canada (14.4 million), Morocco (12.2 million), and China (10.1 million).

The table below ranks the world’s top fertilizer exporters in 2024 based on total tonnes exported.

These totals combine different parts of the fertilizer industry, each supplying essential nutrients for agriculture. Potash supplies potassium, while phosphate fertilizers supply phosphorus. Nitrogen fertilizers follow a different production process.

As a result, strength in one fertilizer category does not necessarily translate to strength in another. The four leading exporters dominate different parts of the market.

Mining Potash and Phosphate

Canada’s position starts underground. Its potash industry draws on extensive deposits in Saskatchewan, giving the country an advantage that producers without comparable resources cannot easily replicate.

Canada supplies over 70% of the potash consumed in the United States. Efforts to replace Canadian supply with smaller producers, such as Belarus (2.4 million tonnes), therefore face significant logistical challenges.

Morocco, meanwhile, is a major producer of phosphate rock. State-owned OCP Group mines the resource and processes it into phosphoric acid and phosphate fertilizers. OCP alone holds over 30% of the global phosphate market, generating revenue of nearly $10 billion in 2024.

Energy-Intensive Nitrogen Production

For nitrogen fertilizer, the constraint is different. Nitrogen is abundant in the air, but converting it into ammonia, the starting point for mineral nitrogen fertilizers, requires substantial energy and a source of hydrogen.

Natural gas commonly provides both the fuel and the raw material needed to produce that hydrogen. Access to relatively low-cost gas has helped Russia, along with exporters such as Qatar (2.5 million tonnes) and the U.S. (6.4 million tonnes), expand ammonia production.

China, meanwhile, developed much of its ammonia industry around abundant coal supplies instead. The country produces more coal than the rest of the world combined.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To see how one major market has maintained demand for fertilizer, check out EU Has Continued to Buy Russian Fertilizer Throughout War on Voronoi.

So, Where Does America Get Its Potash?

The United States is one of the world’s largest agricultural economies. Growing those crops requires large amounts of fertilizer, including potassium-rich potash.

This visualization shows the largest sources of U.S. potash consumption using data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodities Summaries 2026.

Volumes are expressed in tonnes of potassium oxide equivalent (K₂O), a standard measure that allows different potash products to be compared by their potassium content.

Canada’s Natural Advantage

Canada accounts for 73% of U.S. potash consumption, supported by abundant mineral deposits and its proximity to American farms.

Canada is the world’s largest potash-producing country, with much of its mining industry concentrated in Saskatchewan. Beneath the province lie extensive salt deposits that support a major fertilizer export industry.

The table below shows the estimated breakdown of sources for U.S. potash consumption.

Established rail connections help move Canadian production south into the United States. Nutrien, a major Saskatchewan-based producer, ships potash across the U.S. through its North American transportation network.

That overland connection gives Canadian supply a logistical advantage over alternatives that require ocean transport.

Washington Looks to Belarus

In September 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington was working on a major agreement to purchase potash from Belarus at prices below those paid for Canadian supply. The following day, he said the U.S. would continue buying Canadian potash while also pursuing the possibility of lower-priced Belarusian supply.

Potash has been excluded from the additional Section 338 tariffs imposed on certain Canadian goods, underscoring its importance to U.S. agriculture.

However, adding Belarusian supply would involve more than finding another producer. Landlocked Belarus faces restrictions on European export routes and relies heavily on Russian transportation infrastructure. It also has existing customers, including China, Brazil, and India, limiting how much production could readily be redirected.

Transportation costs are another consideration. Unlike Canadian potash, which can move overland into the U.S., Belarusian supply would face a longer and more complex journey. That means a lower purchase price would not necessarily translate into lower delivered costs for American buyers.

What It Means for American Farmers

For farmers, the practical question is whether alternative suppliers can deliver affordable fertilizer when it is needed. Potassium helps plants regulate water use, develop roots, and withstand drought. When available potassium is insufficient, plant growth and yields can suffer.

Farmers can use soil testing to determine how much potash to apply. Nitrogen and phosphorus cannot replace potassium’s role in crop development, so cheaper supplies of other fertilizers do not remove the need for it.

Other suppliers, including Russia at 11% and Israel at 3%, already provide some diversification. Whether additional Belarusian supply ultimately lowers costs will depend on the final terms, available volumes, and transportation expenses.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

See which countries have the most arable land in this visualization on Voronoi.