China's Fertiliser Exports Surge in 2025 as Trade Volumes Rise

According to data released by China Customs, China exported 3.41 million tonnes of various fertilisers in December 2025. This total included 278,000 tonnes of urea, 1.997 million tonnes of ammonium sulphate, 156,000 tonnes of diammonium phosphate (DAP), and 97,000 tonnes of monoammonium phosphate (MAP).

For the full year from January to December 2025, China's cumulative fertiliser exports reached 46.27 million tonnes, marking a year-on-year increase of 44%. Over the same period, the cumulative export value rose to US$13.755 billion, up 57.9% year-on-year. In terms of product categories, cumulative urea exports surged to 4.89 million tonnes, representing a sharp year-on-year increase of 1,778.1%. Ammonium sulphate exports totalled 21.36 million tonnes, up 24.7% year-on-year. In contrast, DAP exports declined to 3.48 million tonnes, down 23.8%, while MAP exports reached 1.88 million tonnes, a year-on-year decrease of 6.3%.

Measured by nutrient content, China's cumulative exports of urea, ammonium sulphate and ammonium phosphate from January to December were equivalent to 10.09 million tonnes of pure nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium nutrients.

On the import side, China imported 1.58 million tonnes of various fertilisers in December 2025. Among these, potassium chloride accounted for 1.46 million tonnes, while nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium (NPK) ternary compound fertilisers amounted to 75,000 tonnes.

From January to December 2025, cumulative imports of potassium chloride reached 12.61 million tonnes, a slight year-on-year decrease of 0.1%. Imports of NPK ternary compound fertilisers totalled 1.17 million tonnes, down 4.5% year-on-year. Converted to nutrient content, cumulative imports of potassium chloride and triple compound fertilisers over the same period were equivalent to 8.128 million tonnes of pure nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium nutrients.

During January to December, China's major grain and oil crops — including cereals, pulses and vegetable oils  —  required an estimated 8.285 million tonnes of pure nutrients from implicitly imported fertilisers, representing a year-on-year decline of 8.8%.