CSO - Central Statistics Office Ireland

05/08/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/08/2024 04:07

Fertiliser Sales 2023

Nitrogen content of fertiliser sales fell 18% in 2023

Online ISSN: 2811-5767
CSO statistical publication, 08 May 2024, 11am

Key Findings

  • The nitrogen (N) content of fertilisers sold in 2023 was 18% lower than in 2022 at 280,569 tonnes (See Figure 1 and Table 1).

  • The phosphorus (P) content of fertilisers sold in 2023 was down 10% on 2022 at 30,762 tonnes (See Figure 1 and Table 1).

  • Total fertiliser sales fell by 18% for the second year running in 2023 to 1.1 million tonnes (See Figure 2 and Table 2).

  • In the 2023 crop year, 50% of fertiliser sales took place in the three months from April to June 2023 (See Figure 3 and Table 3).

  • Lime sales decreased by 27% in 2023 to 1.0 million tonnes (See Figure 4 and Table 4).

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (08 May 2024) released Fertiliser Sales 2023.

Commenting on the release, Clare O'Hara, Statistician in the Environment Division, said: "This release contains data on fertiliser sales and their nutrient content from 2000 to 2023. 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 2023, total fertiliser sales decreased by 18% for the second year in a row to 1.1 million tonnes. Nitrogen content was down 18% at 280,569 tonnes, and phosphorus content fell by 10% to 30,762 tonnes. Lime sales were down by 27% to 1.0 million tonnes in 2023. This compares with lime sales of 1.4 million tonnes in 2022, the highest in the period 2000-2023.

Quarterly sales data can give an indication of the time of year of greatest fertiliser use. For each year from 2015 to 2023, at least 75% of fertiliser sales took place between January and June, with less than 10% occurring between October and December. In 2023, 50% of fertiliser sales were in April to June while 25% were in January to March. Loss of nutrients to the environment is affected by the amount of rainfall at the time of fertiliser application."

Nutrient Content of Fertiliser Sales

The nitrogen content of fertilisers sold in Ireland was 407,598 tonnes in 2000. It fell to its lowest level of the period 2000-2023 in 2011 at 295,795 tonnes, while it was highest in 2018 at 408,495 tonnes. In 2023 there were 280,569 tonnes of nitrogen in fertilisers sold in Ireland, a decrease of 18% on 2022.

Phosphorus content was at its highest level of the period 2000-2023 in 2000 at 49,267 tonnes and was lowest in 2009 at 20,231 tonnes. In 2023 there were 30,762 tonnes of phosphorus in fertilisers sold in Ireland. This was a fall of 10% compared with 2022. There were 81,956 tonnes of potassium in fertilisers sold in Ireland in 2023 (See Figure 1and Table 1).

Figure 1 Nutrient Content of Fertiliser Sales by Nutrient (N, P, K), 2000-2023

© Central Statistics Office, Ireland
https://data.cso.ie/table/PFSA01

\n\n').text(); var isSnippetPrivate = t4Sdk.pxWidget.utility.isSnippetPrivate("chart", snippet); if(isSnippetPrivate) { $("#px-stat-widget-471247").addClass("px-stat-widget-error"); pxWidget.queue(null, "px-stat-widget-471247"); }
Table 1 Nutrient Content of Fertiliser Sales by Nutrient (N, P, K), 2000-2023
Table 1 Nutrient Content of Fertiliser Sales by Nutrient (N, P, K), 2000-2023
Tonnes of Nutrient % Tonnes of Nutrient % Tonnes of Nutrient %
Crop year1 Nitrogen (N) Change in N Phosphorus (P) Change in P Potassium (K) Change in K
2000 407,598 49,267 122,695
2001 368,667 -10% 42,697 -13% 106,884 -13%
2002 363,513 -1% 41,869 -2% 105,597 -1%
2003 388,080 7% 43,832 5% 111,135 5%
2004 362,525 -7% 42,661 -3% 110,645 -0%
2005 352,165 -3% 38,645 -9% 100,710 -9%
2006 345,154 -2% 37,209 -4% 92,880 -8%
2007 321,588 -7% 32,415 -13% 84,737 -9%
2008 308,960 -4% 26,350 -19% 69,584 -18%
2009 306,806 -1% 20,231 -23% 52,403 -25%
2010 337,574 10% 28,235 40% 72,624 39%
2011 295,795 -12% 28,107 -1% 71,417 -2%
2012 296,536 0% 27,421 -2% 81,179 14%
2013 353,044 19% 36,986 35% 92,790 14%
2014 331,782 -6% 35,584 -4% 93,812 1%
2015 330,959 -0% 36,551 3% 94,242 1%
2016 339,104 3% 37,075 1% 95,558 1%
2017 369,089 9% 41,893 13% 108,694 14%
2018 408,495 11% 46,387 11% 120,267 11%
2019 367,364 -10% 42,672 -8% 114,288 -5%
2020 379,519 3% 44,259 4% 118,016 3%
2021 399,164 5% 46,068 4% 122,922 4%
2022 343,193 -14% 34,240 -26% 93,614 -24%
2023 280,569 -18% 30,762 -10% 81,956 -13%
1The data in this table refer to the crop year. The 2023 crop year runs from 1st October 2022 to 30th September 2023.

Total Fertiliser Sales

Fertiliser sales in Ireland were just over 1.7 million tonnes in 2000, the highest of the time period from 2000 to 2023. They were at their lowest in 2009 at 1.2 million tonnes before reaching 1.7 million tonnes again in 2018 and in 2021. This was followed by an 18% decrease to 1.4 million tonnes in 2022 and a further 18% reduction to 1.1 million tonnes in 2023 (See Figure 2 and Table 2). The reductions in 2022 and 2023 may have been related to higher fertiliser prices relative to previous years.

Figure 2 Total Fertiliser Sales, 2000-2023

© Central Statistics Office, Ireland
https://data.cso.ie/table/PFSA02

\n\n').text(); var isSnippetPrivate = t4Sdk.pxWidget.utility.isSnippetPrivate("chart", snippet); if(isSnippetPrivate) { $("#px-stat-widget-471248").addClass("px-stat-widget-error"); pxWidget.queue(null, "px-stat-widget-471248"); }
Table 2 Total Fertiliser Sales, 2000-2023
Table 2 Total Fertiliser Sales, 2000-2023
Tonnes of Fertiliser %
Crop year1 Total Fertiliser Sales Crop Year Change
2000 1,730,437
2001 1,545,910 -11%
2002 1,523,484 -2%
2003 1,628,384 7%
2004 1,537,961 -6%
2005 1,479,298 -4%
2006 1,426,960 -4%
2007 1,330,183 -7%
2008 1,242,073 -7%
2009 1,172,424 -6%
2010 1,330,406 14%
2011 1,203,509 -10%
2012 1,231,285 2%
2013 1,486,977 21%
2014 1,402,878 -6%
2015 1,395,399 -1%
2016 1,411,913 1%
2017 1,552,809 10%
2018 1,714,729 10%
2019 1,547,082 -10%
2020 1,592,218 3%
2021 1,685,412 6%
2022 1,377,595 -18%
2023 1,135,860 -18%
1The data in this table refer to the crop year. The 2023 crop year runs from 1st October 2022 to 30th September 2023.

Fertiliser Sales by Quarter

Data on total fertiliser sales and the nutrient content of fertiliser sales are presented for the crop year rather than the calendar year. The crop year runs from the beginning of October each year until the end of September the following year. In the crop year from 1st October 2022 to 30th September 2023, 7% of fertiliser sales took place between October and December, 25% of sales took place between January and March, 50% were in April to June and 18% of fertiliser sales occurred between July and September (See Figure 3). The quarterly sales profile in 2023 differed to the previous four years, when the largest percentage of fertiliser sales took place between January and March (See Table 3).

Figure 3 Fertiliser Sales by Quarter, 2022/2023

© Central Statistics Office, Ireland
https://data.cso.ie/table/PFSA03

\n\n').text(); var isSnippetPrivate = t4Sdk.pxWidget.utility.isSnippetPrivate("chart", snippet); if(isSnippetPrivate) { $("#px-stat-widget-471249").addClass("px-stat-widget-error"); pxWidget.queue(null, "px-stat-widget-471249"); }
Table 3 Fertiliser Sales by Quarter, 2015-2023
Table 3 Fertiliser Sales by Quarter, 2015-2023
% Tonnes
Crop year1 October-December January-March April-June July-September Total
2015 2% 46% 39% 14% 1,395,399
2016 2% 38% 45% 15% 1,411,913
2017 4% 45% 35% 17% 1,552,809
2018 3% 34% 41% 22% 1,714,729
2019 4% 42% 41% 14% 1,547,082
2020 2% 45% 38% 15% 1,592,218
2021 4% 52% 30% 15% 1,685,412
2022 4% 55% 22% 20% 1,377,595
2023 7% 25% 50% 18% 1,135,860
1The data in this table refer to the crop year, which runs from 1st October to 30th September. For example, data for October-December 2014 are included under crop year 2015.

Lime Sales

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 2000-2023 in 2022 at 1.4 million tonnes. This was an increase of 4% on 2021, which in turn had shown an increase of 50% on 2020. In 2023 lime sales fell 27% to 1.0 million tonnes (See Figure 4 andTable 4).

Figure 4 Lime Sales, 2000-2023

© Central Statistics Office, Ireland
https://data.cso.ie/table/PFSA04

\n\n').text(); var isSnippetPrivate = t4Sdk.pxWidget.utility.isSnippetPrivate("chart", snippet); if(isSnippetPrivate) { $("#px-stat-widget-471246").addClass("px-stat-widget-error"); pxWidget.queue(null, "px-stat-widget-471246"); }
Table 4 Lime Sales, 2000-2023
Table 4 Lime Sales, 2000-2023
Tonnes %
Year Lime Sales Annual Change
2000 832,689
2001 875,642 5%
2002 622,499 -29%
2003 879,741 41%
2004 547,263 -38%
2005 606,213 11%
2006 579,219 -5%
2007 856,288 48%
2008 595,926 -30%
2009 698,460 17%
2010 972,577 39%
2011 819,724 -16%
2012 521,355 -36%
2013 1,172,029 125%
2014 868,905 -26%
2015 893,730 3%
2016 967,281 8%
2017 737,118 -24%
2018 1,028,738 40%
2019 762,867 -26%
2020 887,320 16%
2021 1,333,100 50%
2022 1,386,915 4%
2023 1,019,002 -27%