China’s fertilizer policy has featured restriction of nitrogen, moderate encouragement of
phosphorus but full support of potassium for several years, in order to address the problem of high
proportion of nitrogen and low proportion of phosphorus and potassium in the nation’s fertilizer
production. Since 2004, nitrogen’s share has shrunk but phosphorus’s share and potassium’s
share have increased steadily.
But phosphorus production was hindered by dull sales in 2008. Consequently, phosphorus’s
share dropped from 24.1% in 2007 to 21.9% in 2008, but nitrogen’s share and potassium’s share
grew from 71.7% and 4% to 73.7% and 4.8% respectively.
Meanwhile, high concentration fertilizer production and consumption were hampered by high cost
and product price in 2008. The proportion of urea, MAP and NPK accounted for 60% of nitrogen
production, 26% of phosphorus and 12% of phosphorus respectively, calculated by effective
element, all less than the year before. Only DAP enjoyed a larger share.
