Phosphate

Overview

Phosphate rock is the commercial name for rocks rich in phosphate minerals, mainly the calcium phosphate apatite. It is the main mined source of phosphorus, one of the essential nutrients for all plants and animals.¹ There is no substitute for phosphorus in agriculture, which is why phosphate rock matters for food security.²

Phosphate rock is different from elemental phosphorus. Most phosphate rock is turned into phosphoric acid and fertilizers; only a small share is smelted into elemental (white) phosphorus for industrial chemicals. That product has its own page: see phosphorus.¹

The United States added phosphate to its critical minerals list in November 2025 on the recommendation of the Department of Agriculture, citing food security.³ The European Commission's 2023 assessment, which formed the basis of the EU list, rated phosphate rock as critical.⁴

Where it comes from

Most phosphate rock comes from sedimentary marine deposits. The largest are in northern Africa, the Middle East, China and the United States; important igneous deposits are mined in Brazil, Canada, Finland, Russia and South Africa. World resources exceed 300 billion t.²

World production of marketable phosphate rock was an estimated 250 million t in 2025, about 5% more than in 2024. China, Morocco, the United States and Russia were the leading producers, in that order.² China produces the most but exports little of it.¹

• China110,000,000 t · 44%
• Morocco36,000,000 t · 14%
• United States20,000,000 t · 8%
• Russia14,000,000 t · 6%
• Jordan12,000,000 t · 5%
• Saudi Arabia10,000,000 t · 4%
• Egypt5,500,000 t · 2%
• Brazil5,000,000 t · 2%
• Peru4,800,000 t · 2%
• Other countries28,350,000 t · 11%

Marketable phosphate rock, gross weight. Country figures sum to 245.65 million t; USGS rounds the world total to 250 million t. Source: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Phosphate Rock

Reserves are far more concentrated than production. Morocco holds about 50 billion t of the world's estimated 73 billion t.² Inside the EU, the only operating phosphate rock mine is at Siilinjärvi in Finland.¹

• Morocco50,000,000,000 t · 68%
• China3,400,000,000 t · 5%
• Egypt2,800,000,000 t · 4%
• Tunisia2,500,000,000 t · 3%
• Russia2,400,000,000 t · 3%
• Algeria2,200,000,000 t · 3%
• Brazil1,600,000,000 t · 2%
• South Africa1,500,000,000 t · 2%
• Other countries6,542,000,000 t · 9%

Country figures sum to 72.94 billion t; USGS rounds the world total to 73 billion t. Source: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Phosphate Rock

Capacity is growing. Global capacity, measured as P₂O₅ content, is projected to rise from 63.7 million t in 2025 to 71.7 million t by 2029. Expansions due by 2028 are under way in Brazil, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco and Russia, and larger new projects are being developed in Canada, Congo (Brazzaville), Guinea-Bissau and Senegal.²

What it is used for

Fertilizers dominate. Worldwide, about 91% of phosphate rock goes into fertilizer production; in the EU the share is about 85%, with roughly 10% used for animal feed supplements and around 4% for detergents, food additives and other chemicals.¹ World consumption of P₂O₅ in fertilizers was an estimated 47.8 million t in 2025 and is projected to reach 51.5 million t by 2029, with Asia and South America leading growth.²

In the United States, more than 95% of mined phosphate rock is made into wet-process and superphosphoric acid for ammonium phosphate fertilizers and feed supplements. The rest is used to make elemental phosphorus, mainly for the herbicide glyphosate.²

Grades and forms

Ore is beneficiated into marketable rock, whose value depends mainly on its P₂O₅ content. Most of it is then converted into phosphoric acid and finished fertilizers. About a quarter of US wet-process phosphoric acid output is exported as upgraded products such as DAP, MAP and merchant-grade acid.²

Trade and policy

US production has held at about 20 million t a year for several years as Florida producers face shrinking reserves and lower P₂O₅ grades, so imports have risen. In 2025 the United States relied on imports for 16% of its consumption, and Peru supplied more than 99% of imports in 2021–24. US imports of phosphate rock enter duty free.² In October 2025 the Bureau of Land Management approved a new mine in Caribou County, Idaho.²

The EU relies heavily on imports. The Commission's 2023 assessment put EU import reliance at 82%, with Morocco (27%), Russia (24%), Finland (17%) and Algeria (10%) the main sources.⁴ Trade measures have shaped the market before: in 2012–2016, China, Morocco and Vietnam applied export taxes on natural calcium phosphates, Egypt had an export ban, and China also applied an export quota.¹

This section is factual background, not legal or trade-compliance advice.

Recycling and substitution

There is no recycling of phosphate rock itself, and no substitute for phosphorus in agriculture.² Phosphorus can, however, be recovered from secondary sources such as manure, sewage and food waste. Germany, Finland and Switzerland have adopted rules to require phosphate recovery.¹

Sources

1. Study on the EU's list of Critical Raw Materials (2020): Factsheets on Critical Raw Materials. European Commission, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

2. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Phosphate Rock. U.S. Geological Survey, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹

3. Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals (90 FR 50494). Federal Register, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

4. Study on the Critical Raw Materials for the EU 2023 – Final Report. European Commission, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩²