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Fertiliser Sales 2021

Fertiliser sales increased by 6% in 2021 with nitrogen content up 5%

Online ISSN: 2811-5767
CSO statistical publication, , 11am

Key Findings

  • Total fertiliser sales increased by 6% in 2021 to 1.7 million tonnes.

  • The nitrogen (N) content of fertilisers sold in 2021 was 5% higher than in 2020 at 399,164 tonnes.

  • The phosphorus (P) content of fertilisers sold in 2021 was up 4% on 2020 at 46,068 tonnes.

  • There were 122,922 tonnes of potassium (K) in fertilisers sold in 2021, which was 4% higher than in 2020.

  • Lime sales increased by 50% in 2021 to 1.3 million tonnes.

  • In the crop year from October 2020 to September 2021, 52% of fertiliser sales took place in the three months from January to March 2021.

Statistician's Comment

Commenting on the release, Clare O'Hara, Statistician in the Environment and Climate Division of the CSO, said: "This new release from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) contains data on fertiliser sales from 2000-2021. Fertilisers are added to soil to provide crops with nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. These nutrients enhance crop production but can also be lost from agricultural soil to groundwater, surface water and air, contributing to environmental pollution.

In 2021 total fertiliser sales increased by 6%. Nitrogen content was up 5% and phosphorus and potassium content both increased by 4%. Lime sales increased by 50% to 1.3 million tonnes, which is the highest in the time series 2000-2021.

Quarterly sales data can give an indication of the time of year of greatest fertiliser use. Between 2015 and 2021, at least 75% of fertiliser sales took place between January and June, with only 2-4% occurring in October to December. In 2021, 52% of fertiliser sales were in January to March. Loss of nutrients to the environment is affected by the amount of rainfall at the time of fertiliser application."

Tables and Graphs

Nitrogen (N)Phosphorus (P)Potassium (K)
200040759849267122695
200136866742697106884
200236351341869105597
200338808043832111135
200436252542661110645
200535216538645100710
20063451543720992880
20073215883241584737
20083089602635069584
20093068062023152403
20103375742823572624
20112957952810771417
20122965362742181179
20133530443698692790
20143317823558493812
20153309593655194242
20163391043707595558
201736908941893108694
201840849546387120267
201936736442672114288
202037951944259118016
202139916446068122922

Nitrogen content was 407,598 tonnes in 2000 and fell to its lowest level in 2011 at 295,795 tonnes. It was highest in 2018 at 408,495 tonnes and in 2021 there were 399,164 tonnes of nitrogen in fertilisers sold in Ireland. Phosphorus content was highest in 2000, lowest in 2009 and increased again to 46,068 tonnes in 2021. Potassium content was at its lowest in 2009 and at its highest in 2021 at 122,922 tonnes. See Table 1 and Figure 1.

Total Fertiliser Sales
20001.730437
20011.54591
20021.523484
20031.628384
20041.537961
20051.479298
20061.42696
20071.330183
20081.242073
20091.172424
20101.330406
20111.203509
20121.231285
20131.486977
20141.402878
20151.395399
20161.411913
20171.552809
20181.714729
20191.547082
20201.592218
20211.685412

Fertiliser sales were at their highest of the time series in 2000 at just over 1.7 million tonnes. They were at their lowest from 2007-2012 but reached over 1.7 million tonnes again in 2018. They were just under 1.7 million tonnes in 2021 (see Table 2 and Figure 2).

Fertiliser Sales
Quarter 1 (Oct-Dec 2020)4
Quarter 2 (Jan-Mar 2021)52
Quarter 3 (Apr-Jun 2021)30
Quarter 4 (Jul-Sep 2021)15

Data on total fertiliser sales and on the nutrient content of fertiliser sales, are compiled for the crop year and published under the calendar year. For example, nutrient and fertiliser data for 2021 refers to the crop year from the beginning of October 2020 until the end of September 2021. In that crop year, 4% of fertiliser sales took place between October and December 2020, 52% of sales took place between January and March 2021, 30% were in April to June 2021 and 15% of fertiliser sales occurred between July and September 2021. See Table 3 and Figure 3.

Lime Sales
20000.832689
20010.875642
20020.622499
20030.879741
20040.547263
20050.606213
20060.579219
20070.856288
20080.595926
20090.69846
20100.972577
20110.819724
20120.521355
20131.172029
20140.868905
20150.89373
20160.967281
20170.737118
20181.028738
20190.762867
20200.88732
20211.3331

Lime is a soil conditioner which is used to regulate the acidity of soil. Applying lime to soil leads to carbon dioxide emissions due to the carbon content of the lime. However, as soil acidity is a factor in fertiliser efficiency, applying lime to soil can reduce requirements for nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilisers. This can result in a reduction in pollution, including a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions arising from nitrogen-containing fertilisers. Lime sales were at their highest of the period 2000-2021 in 2021 at 1.3 million tonnes. This was an increase of 50% on 2020 which in turn had shown an increase of 16% on 2019 (see Table 4 and Figure 4).

Table 1 Nutrient Content of Fertiliser Sales by Nutrient (N, P, K), 2000-2021

Table 2 Total Fertiliser Sales, 2000-2021

Table 3 Fertiliser Sales by Quarter, 2015-2021

Table 4 Lime Sales, 2000-2021