Phosphate Fertilizers & Phosphate Chemicals from China
Product knowledge and international market information on MAP, DAP, TSP, SSP and the water-soluble phosphates — grades, applications, packaging, trade and prices, written by people who trade fertilizer and dated so you can judge how fresh it is.
Typical grades: MAP 11-52-0 DAP 18-46-0 TSP WS MAP 12-61-0 MKP 0-52-34
Granule, typically grey, tan or off-white
DAP 18-46-0Granule, typically brown, grey or tan
TSP 0-46-0Granule or powder, typically grey or light brown
SSP 0-16-0 – 0-20-0Granule or powder, typically grey to brown
WS MAP 12-61-0White crystal or crystalline powder
Five products, and the reason a buyer picks one over another
MAP and DAP carry most of the world’s phosphate trade. TSP and SSP compete on sulphur and calcium where a market values them. Water-soluble MAP is a different product from granular MAP, sold to a different customer, and is not a substitute for it.
MAP
11-52-0MAP 11-52-0 granular from China — a high-analysis phosphate fertilizer supplying ammoniacal nitrogen and fully available phosphorus for basal application and blend manufacturing.
Product details →DAP
18-46-0DAP 18-46-0 granular from China — the world's most traded phosphate fertilizer, supplying 18% ammoniacal nitrogen and 46% available P2O5 for direct application and blending.
Product details →TSP
0-46-0TSP 0-46-0 from China — a nitrogen-free concentrated phosphate fertilizer, granulated or powdered, for direct application, blending and phosphate-deficient soils.
Product details →SSP
0-16-0 – 0-20-0SSP from China — a phosphate fertilizer carrying 16–20% available P2O5 together with sulphur and calcium, supplied granular or powdered to the specification used in the destination market.
Product details →WS MAP
12-61-0Water-soluble monoammonium phosphate 12-61-0 — a purified, fully soluble phosphate for fertigation, foliar application and the manufacture of soluble NPK blends.
Product details →MKP and urea phosphate
Fully soluble potassium and urea phosphates for foliar programmes and soluble NPK manufacture, sold in smaller volumes than the bulk grades and to a different buyer.
Where each product goes
The same tonne of phosphate is bought for four different reasons. The reason decides the grade, the physical form and the specification that has to be in the contract.
Direct agricultural application
Basal phosphate for cereals, oilseeds, sugarcane, pasture and plantation crops. MAP and DAP are placed at or below the seed row; TSP and SSP suit markets where sulphur or calcium is also short, and where the higher analysis of MAP or DAP is not worth the premium.
Agricultural fertilization →Fertilizer blending
Granular phosphate is the phosphate component of NP and NPK blends. Particle size has to match the urea and potash in the same blend or the bag segregates in transit, and DAP with urea releases ammonia if the two are mixed wet. Both are specification points, not preferences.
Fertilizer blending →Water-soluble programmes and fertigation
Water-soluble MAP 12-61-0, MKP and urea phosphate dissolve completely and are injected through drip and micro-sprinkler systems or applied as foliar sprays. What decides whether an emitter stays open is the water-insoluble residue figure, not the P2O5 content alone.
Fertigation →Industrial and feed applications
Phosphoric acid, DCP and MCP serve metal treatment, water treatment and animal feed. These are grade-and-documentation businesses: technical, feed and food grades are separate products with separate certificates and are never substituted for one another.
Industrial applications →The three distinctions that decide a purchase
Most phosphate disputes are not about price. They are about which figure was quoted, on what basis, and whether the product in the bag is the product in the specification.
| MAP | DAP | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical grade | 11-52-0 | 18-46-0 |
| Nitrogen : phosphate | About 1 : 4.7 — the lowest N of the two | About 1 : 2.6 — nearly twice the N per unit P2O5 |
| Solution pH | Acidic (about 4.5), so it suits alkaline soils and hard water | Alkaline (about 7.5–8), and it releases ammonia if blended wet with urea |
| Storage | Less hygroscopic; the safer of the two in humid stores | More hygroscopic; needs a lined bag and a dry store |
| Blending with urea | Workable, with a moisture limit | Possible but sensitive — ammonia loss and caking if moisture is not controlled |
| Chinese export grades | Also 10-50-0 and 11-44-0 for markets that buy on delivered P2O5 cost | Predominantly 18-46-0 |
Granular MAP is not water-soluble MAP
Both are monoammonium phosphate, and that is where the similarity ends. Granular MAP 11-52-0 is made for soil application and carries an insoluble fraction and a granule size designed for spreading. Water-soluble MAP 12-61-0 is purified for injection and foliar use, and is judged on water-insoluble residue. One cannot be substituted for the other, and the price difference reflects the purification, not the nutrient.
Granular or powder? →Available P2O5 is not total P2O5
A certificate can state total P2O5, available (citrate-soluble) P2O5, or water-soluble P2O5, and the three numbers differ for the same tonne. A quotation that says “52%” without naming the basis cannot be compared with another that says the same. The basis and the test method belong in the contract, before the cargo sails.
Reading a grade →China’s phosphate industry, in plain terms
China is the largest phosphate producer in the world, and the trade runs from a small number of inland production bases to the southern ports. These are the facts a buyer needs before comparing any offer.
Where production sits
Phosphate production is concentrated inland in Yunnan, Guizhou and Hubei, and the analysis varies by producer and by lot. That is why Chinese grades are not all identical to the international benchmarks, and why the grade belongs in any comparison.
Quality documents, per lot
- COA for the production lot, with test methods
- Technical data sheet
- MSDS
- Third-party inspection where the contract calls for it
Export position
Chinese export requirements apply by product and by HS code. Export availability for phosphate fertilizers from China is subject to applicable regulations and product-specific requirements.
Loading and documents
Container or breakbulk, named per enquiry. Packing list, invoice, certificate of origin and any destination declaration travel with the cargo.
How phosphate is priced
Cargoes that move are priced FOB the Chinese loading port, with CFR or CIF arranged on request. Named per enquiry. The Market Insights section explains what drives the international price.
What this site does not do
No stock claims, no published prices presented as offers, no delivery dates. Export availability for phosphate fertilizers from China is subject to applicable regulations and product-specific requirements. This website currently focuses on phosphate fertilizer information and international market developments.
How the phosphate market is moving
Written from our own reading of the market and dated, so you can tell whether a figure is current or three weeks old. No paid report is reproduced here, and no price is presented as a live quote.
Phosphate, 2 November 2026: the China-to-India DAP trade is arithmetically dead, sulphur fell $127/t, and the margin went the wrong way for buyers
Freight from China to India is $28-30/t. On a cargo bought at $885/t fob, Chinese DAP arrives at $915 against an Indian bid of $883-900. There is no version of that trade that pays — and with sulphur down $127/t, the seller has no reason to fix it.
Market analysisPhosphate week 43, 2026: DAP is being sold, MAP is not, and the US has swapped them over
DAP is being discounted and MAP is not being offered, and in the US the two have swapped places. China has signed 456,000t to Bangladesh and still has no CIQ-approved cargo to load.
Market analysisPhosphate, 29 October 2026: a 456,000t contract with no CIQ cargo behind it, and the DAP-MAP spread that just inverted in the US
Beijing signed up to supply Bangladesh up to 456,000t of DAP through January. There is still not one CIQ-approved cargo in the country. Meanwhile DAP is being discounted and MAP is not being offered, and in the US the two have swapped places.
Who is behind China Phosphates
China Phosphates is maintained by SINO STARCO CHEMICAL and QINGDAO UNITED CHEMICAL — fertilizer trading and export companies based in Qingdao. The team trades urea, ammonium sulfate and compound fertilizers alongside phosphates, which is why the product pages go past the grade name to the specification points a contract needs.
We do not own a phosphate mine or a granulation plant, and nothing on this site claims that we do. At this stage the site is an information resource; commercial enquiries are assessed case by case for products whose export position allows a shipment.
Contact
- [email protected]
- Tel +86 532 89691929
- Mon–Fri, 09:00–18:00 China Standard Time (GMT+8)
Product information, market questions and business cooperation.
Questions buyers ask before the first order
What does China Phosphates cover?
The bulk phosphate fertilizers — MAP 11-52-0, DAP 18-46-0, TSP and SSP — plus the water-soluble range: water-soluble MAP 12-61-0, MKP 0-52-34 and urea phosphate. Each product page covers the grades that trade, applications, packaging and documentation, and the Market Insights section follows the international market.
What does a grade like 11-52-0 or 18-46-0 mean?
The three numbers are the percentage of nitrogen (N), available phosphate (P2O5) and potassium (K2O), in that order. So 11-52-0 is 11% N, 52% P2O5 and no potash, and 18-46-0 is 18% N and 46% P2O5. A zero in the third position means the product supplies no potassium at all, which matters when you are balancing a blend.
Can I buy phosphate fertilizer through this site?
Commercial enquiries are assessed case by case for products whose export position allows a shipment. Export availability for phosphate fertilizers from China is subject to applicable regulations and product-specific requirements. This website currently focuses on phosphate fertilizer information and international market developments.
Are the prices in the market articles quotable?
No. Market articles discuss how the international price moved and why, with a data cut-off date on each one. They are reference information about the market, not a quotation, and no article should be read as an offer from us.
What documentation comes with a shipment?
A certificate of analysis for the production lot, a technical data sheet, an MSDS, the packing list, the commercial invoice and a certificate of origin. Phytosanitary certification and destination-specific declarations are added where the importing country requires them, and are confirmed before the contract rather than assumed after it.
How is phosphate fertilizer packed and shipped?
The usual export options are 25 kg or 50 kg PP woven bags with a PE liner, 1000 kg or 1250 kg jumbo bags, and bulk in vessel for full cargoes. The product and packaging pages describe how each option is loaded and what the documents cover.
Do you own a phosphate mine or a granulation plant?
No. The companies behind this site are fertilizer trading and export businesses. They buy from producers, match analysis to specification and handle documentation when a shipment goes ahead. Nothing on this site claims production, a mine or a plant.
Send an enquiry
Ask about a grade, a specification or the market. Product and market questions are answered directly; sourcing enquiries are assessed against the current export position.
Not sure which grade fits your programme?
Send the crop, the soil or the existing blend analysis and the product pages will point you to the comparison that answers it — including when the answer is that you do not need to change what you are buying.