An overview of the global fertilizer trends and India’s position in 2020

Abstract

The growing world population is expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, which will increase the present demand for food by ~ 70%. Consequently, to boost agrarian production and achieve food security, within limited arable land, the effective use of fertilizers becomes critical. However, the economic efficiency of mineral fertilizers has fallen dramatically as the price hike in fertilizers became dearer than food. The current winds of global climate change due to continued emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities have been posing unprecedented challenges before the agriculture sector and fertilizer industry. The limited geological resources of raw material for the manufacture of fertilizers and market fluctuations of fertilizer minerals initiate wide-reaching competition and raise challenge of food security. It is observed since the last century that the production of fertilizer minerals has risen almost constantly; however, consumption varied greatly from one region to another. It remained constant or declined in Western Europe and North America, but increased rapidly in East and South Asia especially in China and India. The Asian share of global fertilizer consumption is more than 60% and growing rapidly. This supply-demand pattern influences mineral fertilizers’ trade-flow and thereby global competition. Hence, there is a need to develop the fertilizer mineral sector and adopt policies and strategies to ensure materials security. The sustainable agricultural intensification and the agronomical proportions, timing, and placement with the right source are crucial factors which determine the sustainable utility of fertilizer minerals. In the wake of the above, we provide a critical appraisal of fertilizer minerals.