Consumption of fertilisers in EU fell 2% in 2021

The consumption of nitrogen-based fertilisers in agriculture was estimated at 9.8 million tonnes in the EU in 2021, a year-on-year decrease of 2.0%, a rate similar to the short-term trend noted since 2017. However, over the medium term, the overall consumption of nitrogen fertilisers returned to a level similar to that of a decade before.

Consumption of nitrogen-based fertilisers in agriculture in 2021 was highest in countries that are also among the EU’s main agricultural producers. France (2.0 million tons), Germany (1.3 million tons), Poland (1.0 million tons, 2020 data) and Spain (1.0 million tons) together represented one-half of total EU consumption.

In 2021, the consumption of phosphorus fertilisers in agriculture was 1.1 million tonnes. This represented a decline of 3.8% on the level in 2020, albeit to a level that was similar to the average over the previous decade.

The countries with the highest consumption of phosphorus-based fertilisers in agriculture in 2021 were France, Spain, Poland, Romania, Italy and Germany; their consumption was almost three-quarters of the EU’s total use.