Fertiliser distributors sold 1.08 million tonnes of fertiliser directly to farmers in 2023. The volume sold was 18.8 per cent less than a year earlier.

Compared to the average of the last ten years, the volume of total fertiliser sales to end-users in 2023 decreased by 36 per cent. Sales of potash and compound ferti-lisers decreased by 45-45 per cent, of straight phosphorus by 25 per cent and of nitrogen by 32 per cent in 2023 compared to the average of the years 2013-2022. The nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium (NPK) content of fertilisers purchased by farmers in 2023 was 371,000 tonnes, 85,000 tonnes (-18.7 per cent) lower than a year earlier. The nitrogen content decreased by 18.4 per cent, potassium by 21.5 per cent and phosphorus by 17.1 per cent compared to the base period.