Sulphate of potash: world market, 1995-2025
World trade in SOP was 1.8 Mt in 2025 (estimate), 6.9% more than in 2024 and the highest since 2021.
Grade used for nutrient tonnes: 50% K₂O, 18% S; one tonne carries 0.50 t of N, P₂O₅ and K₂O.
Years up to 2024 are complete annual data; only 2025, the latest year, is a FertRadar estimate from the monthly customs declarations (UN Comtrade).
World trade in SOP, 1995-2025
Tonnes of product, nutrient content, value or average unit value. Hover the chart for values.
kt product.
| Year | World trade |
|---|---|
| 2025 (estimate) | 1,778 |
| 2024 | 1,663 |
| 2023 | 1,409 |
| 2022 | 1,760 |
| 2021 | 2,077 |
| 2020 | 2,062 |
| 2019 | 1,950 |
| 2018 | 1,654 |
| 2017 | 2,068 |
| 2016 | 1,844 |
| 2015 | 2,010 |
| 2014 | 1,993 |
| 2013 | 1,625 |
| 2012 | 1,513 |
| 2011 | 1,518 |
| 2010 | 1,556 |
| 2009 | 1,037 |
| 2008 | 2,170 |
| 2007 | 2,140 |
| 2006 | 2,240 |
| 2005 | 2,222 |
| 2004 | 2,255 |
| 2003 | 2,195 |
| 2002 | 2,821 |
| 2001 | 1,916 |
| 2000 | 1,795 |
| 1999 | 2,696 |
| 1998 | 2,956 |
| 1997 | 2,953 |
| 1996 | 2,779 |
| 1995 | 2,417 |
Latest 10 years shown. for the full history since 1995, every view and the table.
Latest 12 months, Feb 2025 to Jan 2026
World trade in SOP over the latest 12 months, against the same months a year earlier. Latest month January 2026: partly estimated, countries declaring 73% of world SOP imports have reported.
Exporters, 2025
Volume, share of world exports and change on 2024. Select a country for its page.
| rank | country | iso3 | tonnes | value_musd | share_pct | change_pct | unit_value_usd_t |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | DEU | |||||
| 2 | Sweden | SWE | |||||
| 3 | Belgium | BEL | |||||
| 4 | Egypt | EGY | |||||
| 5 | Taiwan | TWN | |||||
| 6 | China | CHN | |||||
| 7 | Uzbekistan | UZB | |||||
| 8 | United States | USA | |||||
| 9 | Türkiye | TUR | |||||
| 10 | Canada | CAN |
Importers, 2025
Volume, share of world imports and change on 2024. Select a country for its page.
| rank | country | iso3 | tonnes | value_musd | share_pct | change_pct | unit_value_usd_t |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norway | NOR | |||||
| 2 | Belgium | BEL | |||||
| 3 | South Africa | ZAF | |||||
| 4 | United States | USA | |||||
| 5 | Australia | AUS | |||||
| 6 | Netherlands | NLD | |||||
| 7 | Morocco | MAR | |||||
| 8 | France | FRA | |||||
| 9 | India | IND | |||||
| 10 | Peru | PER |
Largest routes, 2025
Share of the importer's supply and of the exporter's sales. Unit values by route are part of Pro.
| Route | Volume | % of importer | % of exporter | USD/t PRO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SwedenNorway | 126 kt | 100% | 39% | ••• |
| SwedenBelgium | 111 kt | 96% | 34% | ••• |
| GermanyUnited States | 61 kt | 59% | 18% | ••• |
| GermanyAustralia | 52 kt | 62% | 15% | ••• |
| SwedenNetherlands | 36 kt | 44% | 11% | ••• |
| GermanySouth Africa | 34 kt | 33% | 9.9% | ••• |
| GermanyFrance | 31 kt | 49% | 8.9% | ••• |
| BelgiumEgypt | 30 kt | 62% | 10% | ••• |
| TaiwanJapan | 29 kt | 71% | 16% | ••• |
| EgyptMorocco | 27 kt | 42% | 14% | ••• |
PRO +10 more routes in the full tableUnlock with Pro | ||||
Trade matrix, 2025
Top 10 exporters by top 12 importers, kt of product, with every route of the year in the full matrix.
Leaders over time
Largest countries of 2025, 1995-2025.
Latest 10 years shown. for the full history since 1995, every view and the table.
Go further
Sulphate of potash by country
In the news
from the weekly market newsData pack: World Sulphate of potash market
Sulphate of potash, world: trade 1995-2025, exporters, importers and routes of the latest year, prices, producers.
- World tradeWorld trade in Sulphate of potash: volume, nutrient content, value, unit value, number of flows.31 rows
- ExportersExporters in 2025: rank, volume, value, unit value, share of world, change on the year before.20 rows
- ImportersImporters in 2025: rank, volume, value, unit value, share of world, change on the year before.20 rows
- RoutesLargest exporter to importer routes in 2025.20 rows
- Leading exportersLeading exporters of the latest year, volume over time, kt product.10 rows
- Leading importersLeading importers of the latest year, volume over time, kt product.10 rows
- PricesWorld Bank benchmarks, monthly averages, nominal US dollars per tonne of product (gas per MMBtu).321 rows
- ProducersProducers with figures for this product.5 rows
- AdjustmentsCorrections FertRadar applied to the customs data behind this file, with their evidence.9 rows
Also in the file: a Read me sheet (contents, units, how to cite, terms of use), the Sources sheet with every source, its licence and address, and the Definitions sheet with grades and notes.
The full file
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12 sheets, 446 rows. Formats: Excel (.xlsx) and CSV (one file per sheet, plus the same data in long form for databases and BI tools).
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Free sample: every sheet, column, source and definition, at most 3 rows of data in each sheet.
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About this data
Methodology: tradeDefinitions4
- World trade
- Sum of all reported bilateral flows of the product in the year, in tonnes of product, after FertRadar adjustments (phantom tonnes imputed, reclassifications, duplicate codes removed).
- Value
- Declared value of the flows, FOB equivalent (freight and insurance excluded), in US dollars.
- Unit value
- Value divided by quantity over flows with a quantity. A customs average across contracts and grades, not a market price.
- Nutrient content
- Tonnes of product converted with the FertRadar nutrient contents (see Methodology, products table). Sulphate of potash: standard grade 50% K₂O, 18% S.
Sources and reliability3
Official statistics and the producers' own documents only, cleaned and reconciled by FertRadar. Every figure keeps a reference to its document, and every correction to the customs data is documented one by one.
- CEPII, BACI (Etalab Open Licence 2.0)
- United Nations Statistics Division, UN Comtrade
- Documents cited by the adjustments: CEPII; USGS
The document, page and date behind each figure are listed in the Pro data files. Sources and licences
Adjustments to the customs data9
FertRadar corrects, reclassifies or annotates customs flows only on documented evidence. Those touching this page: 5 hub rules, 2 corrections, 1 reclassification and 1 known anomaly; 9 estimated.
Notes7
- The largest exporter in 2025 (estimate) was Germany, with 346 kt, 19% of world exports.
- The largest importer in 2025 (estimate) was Norway, with 127 kt, 7.1% of world imports.
- The average customs unit value was 631 USD/t in 2025 (estimate), against 624 USD/t in 2024.
- Trade figures: CEPII BACI with the FertRadar adjustments listed on this page. Tonnes of product unless stated; kt = thousand tonnes, Mt = million tonnes.
- 2025 is a FertRadar estimate from the monthly customs declarations (UN Comtrade), hatched in the charts. Replaced by the annual data when published.
- Values exclude freight and insurance (FOB equivalent). Unit values are customs averages over shipments under different contracts, not market prices.
- Publication rules: routes shown when above 1% of the total or 10,000 t (the rest under "others"); unit values only for at least 1,000 t; year-on-year changes only when both years are at least 1,000 t; supplier concentration only for importers of at least 50,000 t.
How to cite
FertRadar (2026), "Sulphate of potash: world trade 1995-2025", fertradar.com, https://fertradar.com/products/sop-potassium-sulphate/, Release 2026.10.