How much does fertilizer cost — per tonne and per hectare?
Indicative international bands for budgeting a commercial fertilizer programme: urea around USD 300–500/t, DAP USD 550–800/t, MOP USD 280–450/t and water-soluble fertigation grades USD 900–1,600/t. Per hectare, annual spend runs from about USD 80–250 on cereals to USD 6,000–20,000 in a high-tech greenhouse. Use these to size the budget, then get dated offers on one comparable basis.
What does commercial fertilizer cost?
Indicative international planning bands: urea USD 300–500 per tonne, DAP USD 550–800, MOP USD 280–450, bulk NPK blends USD 400–700 and water-soluble fertigation grades USD 900–1,600. Annual cost per hectare runs about USD 80–250 on cereals, USD 600–1,800 on drip-fertigated open-field vegetables and USD 6,000–20,000 in a high-tech recirculating greenhouse. Commodity prices move weekly, so only a dated quotation is binding.
- Bands are for budgeting — they are not offers and not market quotations
- Freight, duty, registration, packaging and finance cost sit on top of the product price
- Compare offers on landed usable cost per tonne of nutrient, not headline price
- Application rates and nutrition programmes are agronomic decisions, not procurement ones
Fertilizer price per tonne by product
Indicative bulk bands in USD per metric tonne, product only, before freight, duty and local handling. Ranges are wide because commodity fertilizer is repriced continuously.
| Product | Analysis | Planning band | What moves it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urea (granular) | 46-0-0 | USD 300 – 500 /t | Most volatile line in the basket; gas-price and export-policy driven. |
| Ammonium sulphate | 21-0-0 + 24S | USD 150 – 300 /t | Sulphur carrier; freight is a large share of landed cost. |
| DAP | 18-46-0 | USD 550 – 800 /t | Phosphate bands move with sulphur and ammonia input costs. |
| MAP | 11-52-0 | USD 550 – 820 /t | Preferred where a lower pH starter is required. |
| MOP / potash | 0-0-60 | USD 280 – 450 /t | Chloride-sensitive crops need SOP instead. |
| SOP (sulphate of potash) | 0-0-50 + 18S | USD 600 – 900 /t | Premium over MOP for chloride-sensitive and export horticulture. |
| Bulk-blended NPK | buyer-specified | USD 400 – 700 /t | Blend cost tracks the component basket plus a blending and bagging margin. |
| Water-soluble NPK | e.g. 20-20-20 | USD 900 – 1,600 /t | Fertigation grade; solubility and insolubles limits drive the price. |
| Calcium nitrate (greenhouse grade) | 15.5-0-0 + 19Ca | USD 400 – 700 /t | Core greenhouse product; ammonium content must be specified. |
| Potassium nitrate | 13-0-46 | USD 900 – 1,500 /t | Standard in hydroponic recipes; technical grade costs more than agricultural. |
| Chelated micronutrients (Fe-EDDHA) | 6 % Fe | USD 4,000 – 9,000 /t | Small tonnage, large budget line on alkaline water. |
Fertilizer cost per hectare by crop
Annual programme cost per hectare, planning bands only. Actual spend follows crop removal, cycles per year, water quality and the share of soluble technical grades.
| Crop | System | Annual cost / ha | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wheat / barley | Open field, rainfed to lightly irrigated | USD 80 – 250 /ha/yr | Nitrogen dominates; split applications by growth stage. |
| Maize | Open field, irrigated | USD 200 – 500 /ha/yr | High N and K removal at commercial yield levels. |
| Potato | Open field, drip or pivot | USD 500 – 1,200 /ha/yr | Heavy potassium demand; SOP where quality is graded. |
| Open-field vegetables | Drip fertigation | USD 600 – 1,800 /ha/yr | Programme depends on crop cycles per year. |
| Orchard / table grapes | Drip fertigation | USD 700 – 2,000 /ha/yr | Calcium and micronutrients carry a large share. |
| Protected tomato / pepper | Polyhouse, free-drain substrate | USD 3,000 – 9,000 /ha/yr | Long cycle, continuous fertigation, high soluble-grade share. |
| High-tech greenhouse | Glass, recirculating hydroponics | USD 6,000 – 20,000 /ha/yr | Technical grades and acid/base dosing; recirculation cuts waste, not grade cost. |
| Leafy greens | NFT / DWC hydroponics | USD 4,000 – 12,000 /ha/yr | Many crops per year; cost tracks cycles, not area alone. |
What sits on top of the product price
Ocean freight and demurrage
Bulk versus bagged, vessel size and destination port congestion. On low-value products this can be a quarter or more of the landed cost.
Import duty and VAT
Duty varies by HS code and analysis; some markets zero-rate fertilizer, others do not. Confirm the classification before comparing offers.
Registration and documentation
Product registration or notification, certificate of analysis per lot, safety data sheet in the destination language, batch traceability.
Packaging and handling
Big bags, palletised 25 kg, liner quality and shelf-life requirement for humid climates.
Inland transport and storage
Port-to-site haulage, warehousing at seasonal peak and losses from poor storage.
Payment and finance cost
LC charges or the cost of a seasonal working-capital facility priced into the effective cost per tonne.
Turn the budget into comparable offers
Nothing is sent to a supplier on submission. A sourcing specialist reviews the requirement manually, and outreach only happens after internal approval.
Fertilizer cost questions
Bands on this page are planning figures compiled for budgeting commercial projects. They are not price quotations, not market data and not an offer to sell. SeedMatchGroup does not manufacture, distribute or trade fertilizer and gives no agronomic advice.