Argentina's fertilizer consumption set to grow by 11% in 2025: Fertilizar

Fertilizer consumption in Argentina is projected to increase by 11% to 5.2 million mt in 2025, driven by favorable planting intentions for wheat, barley, and corn, as well as macroeconomic improvements, according to the civil association Fertilizar.

"We project a 10% to 11% increase in the use of fertilizers sustained by the sowing intentions and area of the main crops, with expectations of a very good campaign for wheat and barley, amid good hydric conditions in soils this year," Roberto Rotondaro, the president of Fertilizar, said in an interview with Platts, part of S&P Global Energy.

The growth expectation continues the positive trend that began in 2024 and is above the 7% increase in fertilizer use to 4.9 million mt reached last year, according to data previously reported by the association focused on promoting the rational use of fertilizers in the South American country.

However, the outlook is still below Argentina's record for fertilizer usage set in 2021, when 5.6 million mt were applied.

"Wheat and barley are the key contributors to the forecast, adding 400,000 to 500,000 hectares of area planted in the current campaign [Campaña fina], as this drives and marks the level of use of fertilizers," Rotondaro explained.

Urea is Argentina's most significant fertilizer, while phosphates, such as MAP, DAP, and SSP, are also among the most relevant. Up to 70% of fertilizers used in Argentina are applied to corn and wheat crop

Fertilizar experts believe current consumption levels should be a floor, given the potential to expand fertilizer application.

"We still need to increase fertilizer dosage for various crops like wheat, corn, and soybeans," Rotondaro said. "For the latter, Argentina sows about 17 to 18 million hectares, and only half of that is fertilized, which presents a great opportunity for growth."

He added that producers' cost reductions, which vary according to grain prices, and the ongoing lack of conviction regarding the use of fertilizers as an investment are among the reasons contributing to the slow progress toward stronger growth.

In addition to the enhancing soil productivity, a diagnosis by Fertilizar highlights the need for fertilizers, revealing that 60% to 65% of fields in the central Pampa region suffer from medium to severe phosphorus deficiency, "so there is no choice but to use higher doses of phosphorus or incorporate it," Rotondaro said.

Over the past 30 years, the balance of nutrients replenished and extracted from agricultural soils amounts to $30 billion in today's money.

'In the path'

Of the total fertilizers used in the country, only one-third is produced locally, including urea, single superphosphate, and ammonium thiosulfate, which is mixed with UAN.

Profertil, located in Bahía Blanca and jointly owned by Nutrien and the state oil company YPF, is the largest urea producer in Argentina, controlling the market with output of 1 million-1.5 million mt/year.

Bunge and Asociación de Cooperativas Argentinas are the main phosphate producers, with Bunge operating a plant in Ramallo, Buenos Aires, and ACA associated with a second plant in Santa Fe. Together, they produce around 500,000 mt of single superphosphate.

Rotondaro highlighted a new project to expand and install a plant in Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires, to produce an additional million mt of urea. In the same location, Pampa Energía, an energy company, plans to build a nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing plant. Additionally, a potassium project is being resumed to exploit mineral reserves in the provinces of Mendoza and Neuquén (southwest).

Nearly half of Argentina's urea market needs, unmet by Profertil, are fulfilled through imports, including monoammonium phosphate, diammonium phosphate, and UAN. Over the past five years, urea has primarily been sourced from Egypt, Algeria, and Nigeria, while UAN is imported from the US and Russia. Phosphates mainly come from Morocco, China, the US, and Russia, according to Fertilizar.

Rotondaro said that the country's current macroeconomic conditions are key to attracting new investments and have so far helped producers.

"It is essential for Argentina to continue on this path of organizing public accounts, which in some way leads to lowering taxes," he said. "In the case of fertilizers, the reduction of import duties has been positive, as well as greater predictability and agility when planning imports, but we still need to wait, and we hope these conditions will remain and improve over time."

Platts assessed urea prices at $380-$406/mt CFR Brazil on May 29.