President Trump’s second term has had frequent announcements and adjustments around tariffs, and notably fertilizer. In 2025, the President has signed three executive orders specifically mentioning fertilizer.
With trade developments and threatened tariffs causing uncertainty, it has many asking what is the current status for domestic sourcing of fertilizer and what additional tons could be produced stateside.
How Much Does the U.S. Rely on Fertilizer Imports?
The answer is: it depends on which fertilizer product you’re referring to.
It ranges from the U.S. sourcing almost all of its needed anhydrous ammonia domestically to importing more than 95% of its potash. For its potash imports based on the past three years of data, the U.S. gets about 87% of its annual volume from Canada, and between 7 to 9% comes from Russia.
Nutrien is the world’s largest single producer and exporter of potash, selling more than 14.4 metric tons of potash in 2024 and delivering it to more than 40 countries around the globe. Of Canada’s 10 active mines, Nutrien owns six.
In the U.S., there are five states with significant enough potash rock: New Mexico, Utah, North Dakota, Arizona and Michigan.
It has many asking the question, could the U.S. mine more of its own potash, which we previously covered here.
How Much Fertilizer Do Farmers Buy?
According to USDA, Economic Research Service’s (ERS) Commodity Costs and Returns data since 2020, fertilizer accounts for 33% to 44% percent of costs for corn production.
The most common fertilizers applied—by volume—are: nitrogen, potash, and phosphates.
But even though phosphates rank third in terms of lb/ per acre, the cost for phosphates relative to the corn price has such a high ratio it is larger than the amount applied to the crop.
Since the end of the 2024, China has cut off its exports of phosphate, whereas the year before it was the second larger global exporter. The country used to provide up to 8 million tons to the global fertilizer market pre-COVID-19.
Where Does the World’s Fertilizer Come From?
Top 5 phosphate export countries ranked globally:
- Morocco
- China
- Saudi Arabia
- Russia
- US.
Top 5 potash export countries ranked globally
- Canada
- Russia
- Belarus
- Israel
- Germany
