Potassium and sulphur sales amounted to 29 200 tonnes and 30 200 tonnes (up six percent) respectively.

The statistics on sales of fertilisers includes fertilisers for agricultural and horticultural purposes. The data is collected from manufacturers, importers and trading companies of fertilisers.

Results can vary between years, depending on stock changes at the farms, expected price changes or changes in taxes and charges. In such cases, the results do not reflect actual use. Normally, high price levels on crop outputs increase the optimal nitrogen fertilisation level.

The cultivation of winter wheat, sown in autumn, reached record highs in the years 2013–2016. Autumn sown crops have a greater need for fertiliser, especially nitrogen, than spring sown crops. Too much rain in the autumn of 2017 reduced the autumn-sown areas. The warm and dry summer in 2018 led to lower yields than expected and an assessment is therefore that there may be fertilisers remaining in stock at the farms to be used in subsequent years.

Farmers’ fertiliser application rates vary according to soil type, season, crop variety, farm policy, and so on. More detailed information on the use and handling of fertilisers, based on interviews with farmers, is published intermittently. Data for 2015/16 was published in 2017 in the report “Use of fertilisers and animal manure in agriculture in 2015/16” (MI 30 SM 1702).

A more detailed Statistical Report is available:

Sales of fertilisers for agricultural and horticultural purposes in 2017/18

The next publication in this series is scheduled for publishing in April 2020.