Phosphate fertilisers
Total P₂O₅ is the number on the bag. It is not the number that feeds anything.
DAP, MAP, TSP and SSP, specified on available and water-soluble phosphate rather than on total — with a cadmium limit expressed per unit of nutrient, and a CBAM line that runs straight between two products most people treat as one family.
The desk
Three different phosphate numbers, and only one of them is a promise.
Every phosphate fertiliser carries a P₂O₅ figure and almost every offer quotes it without saying which of three quantities it refers to. They are not close together, and the gap between them is not a rounding difference.
Total P₂O₅ is all the phosphorus present, including forms a plant cannot reach in any useful timeframe. Available P₂O₅ is the fraction soluble in water plus the fraction soluble in neutral ammonium citrate — the standard proxy for what a crop can actually take up. Water-soluble P₂O₅ is the fastest-acting fraction, and it is the one that matters for fertigation, for starter placement and for anything going through an irrigation line.
A well-made DAP is close to fully available and largely water-soluble. A poorly digested product, or a partially acidulated rock, can carry a respectable total and a disappointing available. Since almost all published prices and almost all contracts are written on the total, that difference goes to whoever noticed it. So the first thing we ask on a phosphate enquiry is which basis you intend to be paid or charged on — and we write all three into the certificate regardless.
Products
Four grades, made two different ways.
The split that matters is whether the product has been ammoniated. It decides the analysis, the handling, the agronomy and — since January 2026 — whether it carries a carbon cost at the EU border.
| Product | Typical grade | What it is, and where it suits |
|---|---|---|
| DAP — diammonium phosphate | 18-46-0 | Phosphoric acid ammoniated to the di-form. The highest-volume phosphate in world trade. Alkaline in the immediate zone around the granule, which suits acidic soils and can cause ammonia loss if surface-applied on alkaline ones. |
| MAP — monoammonium phosphate | 11-52-0 | The mono-form. Higher phosphate, lower nitrogen, and acidic around the granule — so it is the better choice on alkaline and calcareous soils. Also the standard phosphate component in bulk blends because it is physically compatible with most other materials. |
| TSP — triple superphosphate | 0-46-0 | Rock digested with phosphoric acid, no nitrogen. Almost entirely water-soluble, and contains calcium. The straight phosphate of choice where nitrogen is supplied separately — and, because it carries no nitrogen, it sits outside CBAM. |
| SSP — single superphosphate | 0-16-0 to 0-20-0 | Rock digested with sulphuric acid. Low analysis, so high freight per unit of nutrient — but it carries roughly 11–12 % sulphur as gypsum, which in a sulphur-deficient soil is the reason to buy it rather than a drawback. |
| Phosphoric acid | 52–54 % P₂O₅ merchant grade | The intermediate everything above is made from, moved in rubber-lined or stainless tankage. A different logistics proposition entirely, and one we take on only where receiving facilities already exist. |
Specification
Eight lines, and the first three are the same nutrient measured three ways.
These are the parameters we report per cargo. Half of them are about whether the granule survives the journey rather than about what is in it.
| Parameter | Why it is in the contract |
|---|---|
| Total P₂O₅ | The conventional pricing basis. Report it, but do not rely on it alone. |
| Available P₂O₅ | Water-soluble plus neutral ammonium citrate soluble. The agronomic figure, and the one to write a guarantee against. |
| Water-soluble P₂O₅ | The fast fraction. Decisive for fertigation, starter placement and any application through an irrigation system, and often the reason one cargo behaves differently from another at the same total. |
| Nitrogen | On DAP and MAP, the ammoniacal nitrogen. Also the classification fact that puts them inside CBAM. |
| Moisture | The caking parameter. Ammoniated phosphates are hygroscopic and a cargo loaded wet arrives as a single mass, whatever the analysis says. |
| Free acid | Residual acidity from incomplete ammoniation. It corrodes handling equipment, attacks bags from the inside, and continues to react in storage. A low figure is a sign of a well-run plant. |
| Particle size and crushing strength | Whether the granule survives conveying, bagging and spreading — and whether it will segregate in a blend. On blend-destined material this is as important as the analysis. |
| Cadmium and heavy metals | Cadmium per unit of P₂O₅ — see below — plus arsenic, lead, mercury, nickel and chromium VI where the destination regulates them. |
Cadmium
The limit that follows the nutrient, not the tonne.
Cadmium travels with phosphorus from the rock, through the acid plant, into the finished fertiliser. Under the EU Fertilising Products Regulation the limit is 60 mg cadmium per kg P₂O₅, applying to inorganic macronutrient fertilisers with a phosphorus content of at least 5 % P₂O₅ by mass — which is every product on this page.
- Why the unit defeats blending
- Because it is per unit of nutrient, the phosphorus and the cadmium dilute in step. Blend a high-cadmium product with a low-cadmium one and you land in between on both. There is no arithmetic route under the limit, only a sourcing route.
- Which means it is a rock decision
- Igneous apatite concentrate is characteristically very low in cadmium; sedimentary phosphorite is variable and often high. The finished fertiliser inherits whichever it was made from. If you are buying DAP for the EU market, you are buying a decision somebody made at a mine.
- National limits go lower
- Denmark holds an approved derogation at 48 mg/kg P₂O₅, valid until a harmonised Union limit at or below that figure applies. "Compliant with 2019/1009" is therefore not the same as saleable in every member state, and the destination country belongs in the specification.
- And the limit was framed as a first step
- The Commission committed to reassessing the feasibility of a lower harmonised figure, with 2026 named. A multi-year offtake written against 60 mg with no mechanism for a change in the limit leaves that risk sitting with one of the parties, unstated.
- What we do
- Report cadmium in mg/kg P₂O₅ with the calculation shown, from an independent assay, on every cargo — and tell you at enquiry stage if a product cannot meet your destination's limit rather than after it has sailed.
Border carbon
The carbon border runs through the middle of this page.
This is the part most phosphate buyers have not yet worked through, because the intuition is that CBAM is a nitrogen and steel problem. On the published classification it is not.
| Inside CBAM | Outside CBAM |
|---|---|
|
DAP and MAP — they contain nitrogen and classify in CN 3105, which CBAM covers other than 3105 60 00 Any NPK or nitrogen-containing compound in CN 3105 The ammonia used to make them — CN 2814 |
TSP and SSP — no nitrogen, classified as superphosphates in CN 3103 PK fertilisers — CN 3105 60 00, explicitly carved out Phosphate rock and apatite concentrate Merchant phosphoric acid |
- Since 1 January 2026
- CBAM's definitive period: authorised declarant status held before importing, embedded emissions declared annually, certificates surrendered.
- The de minimis
- Under 50 tonnes of covered goods per importer per calendar year, aggregated across all covered commodities.
- The timetable
- Certificates from February 2027; first declaration for 2026 imports due 30 September 2027; from 2027, certificates for at least 50 % of embedded emissions held quarterly.
Handling
Caking, and what the hold has to be.
Phosphates are ordinary dry bulk cargoes in carriage terms — ammonium phosphates and superphosphates travel under Group C schedules of the IMSBC Code, with no liquefaction regime and no chemical hazard classification. The risks are commercial rather than dangerous, and they are almost all about moisture.
- Hygroscopic, and it matters at both ends
- Ammoniated phosphates pick up moisture from humid air. A cargo loaded at a tropical port in the wet season and discharged into a cold shed can arrive as a solid mass that has to be broken out mechanically — a real cost, and a dispute that turns on moisture and condition records at loading.
- Free acid keeps working
- Residual acidity does not sit still in a warm hold. It attacks steel and it degrades bags from the inside on packed cargo. This is why free acid is a specification line rather than a curiosity.
- Anticaking treatment
- Named in the contract with the agent identified, and confirmed compatible with the end use. A coating that suits field application may interfere with dissolution in a fertigation system.
- Ventilation and sweat
- Hold ventilation regime agreed with the master and recorded. Ship's sweat on a hygroscopic cargo is the classic cause of a crusted surface layer over sound product, and the argument afterwards is about who should have ventilated.
- Segregation from incompatibles
- Away from oils, organics and, in particular, from ammonium nitrate based products. This is a stowage term.
Scope
Where our obligation ends.
- What we supply
- DAP, MAP, TSP and SSP in cargo lots, containers, big bags and small bags, FOB or CFR, with independent inspection at load and discharge.
- Phosphoric acid
- Only into buyers with existing rubber-lined or stainless receiving tankage and a discharge arrangement already in place. We do not build that chain for a single parcel.
- What we do not do
- We do not mine, acidulate or granulate, we do not operate terminals or blending plants, and we hold no equity in production.
- Nutrient guarantees
- Written on available P₂O₅ where you want a guarantee that means something agronomically, with total and water-soluble reported alongside. We will not guarantee an availability figure the producer has not evidenced.
- Cadmium and CBAM
- We report cadmium per unit of nutrient and supply the classification and the producer's verified emissions data. Placing a fertilising product on the EU market is the manufacturer's or importer's obligation, and the CBAM declaration is the importer's. We do not represent that we carry either.
How to specify
Six lines and we can price it.
The second line is the one that decides whether you are comparing two offers or two different products.
Product and grade
DAP, MAP, TSP or SSP, with the N-P-K statement and the analysis basis.
Which P₂O₅
Total, available or water-soluble — for the guarantee, for the penalty and for the price. All three if you want them reported.
Cadmium ceiling and destination
In mg/kg P₂O₅, with the country the finished product will be sold into. Denmark is not the EU limit.
Physical properties
Size range and fines ceiling, crushing strength, moisture, free acid, and the anticaking agent named. Say if the material is going into a blend.
Quantity, packing and basis
Tonnes; bulk, big bags or small bags with the bag specification; FOB, CFR or delivered; and the vessel size your berth takes.
Regulatory position
Whether you are the CBAM declarant and what emissions data you need, plus any conformity route required for the destination.
Inspection
Three phosphate determinations, not one.
Independent inspection by an agency appointed for the cargo — SGS, Bureau Veritas or Intertek — instructed jointly, with sampling under supervision. The distinctive requirement on phosphate is that the laboratory runs the full availability suite, because a single total figure cannot be interrogated afterwards.
- Sampling
- Mechanical or stopped-belt increment sampling to the applicable procedure, with increment number and mass, division and preparation recorded, and sealed retained samples held for the claim period. Moisture on a separate sub-sample drawn at the same time.
- The phosphate suite
- Total P₂O₅, available P₂O₅ by the neutral ammonium citrate method, and water-soluble P₂O₅, all three reported on a stated basis. Plus nitrogen on ammoniated grades and sulphur on SSP.
- Cadmium
- By ICP-MS or ICP-OES with a stated detection limit, converted to mg/kg P₂O₅ with the calculation shown. Alongside the other heavy metals the destination regulates.
- Physical
- Moisture, free acid, full size distribution with the fines fraction, and crushing strength. On blend-destined material, the size guide number and uniformity index so the blender can match it.
- Condition
- Photographed at load and at discharge with specific attention to caking, crusting and bag condition. Ventilation record obtained from the vessel.
- Documentation per cargo
- Certificate of analysis with all three phosphate figures, cadmium certificate stated per unit of P₂O₅, moisture and size certificates, hold cleanliness certificate with previous cargo declaration, safety data sheet in the destination language, certificate of origin, the IMSBC cargo declaration, bill of lading and the inspection report with photographs.
Straight answer
What we will tell you before you ask.
- That "46% P₂O₅" is an incomplete statement
- Total, available and water-soluble are three different quantities. Contracts are usually written on the first and crops respond to the second. We report all three and guarantee the one you name.
- That cadmium cannot be blended down
- The limit is per unit of P₂O₅, so nutrient and contaminant dilute together. It is decided by which rock the product was made from, and that decision was taken before anyone offered it to you.
- That DAP and TSP are on opposite sides of CBAM
- DAP and MAP carry nitrogen and fall in CN 3105, which is covered. TSP and SSP are CN 3103 and are not. Two products bought for the same nutrient, with different landed costs into Europe.
- That caking is a moisture record, not an opinion
- Ammoniated phosphates are hygroscopic. If moisture and condition are not documented at loading, the argument at discharge has no floor to stand on.
- That SSP's low analysis is sometimes the point
- It carries sulphur as gypsum. On a sulphur-deficient soil that is a second nutrient, not dead weight — and it changes the freight comparison entirely.
Enquiries
Every enquiry is answered by the desk that handles it.
Send the product, quantity, delivery basis, destination and timing. We revert with availability, an indication and the documentation that accompanies it. Specifications are released once we know who we are speaking with.