Why Russia dominates, and the China-sized hole in the data
What this tab covers Who makes it and how much: world capacity and output, utilisation, the top producing countries and companies globally and in India, concentration, new capacity coming, and each region's position.
Measure
Figure
Detail
Source
World capacity
not published in sources reached
World output
about 25 Mt (2024), up 1.8%
IndexBox (2025)
Capacity utilisation
not published
European plants cut output in 2022 when gas spiked (qualitative). Zimbabwe's only producer, Sable Chemicals, was due to restart in May 2026 after three years idle (CRU BCInsight).
CRU BCInsight (2026)
Concentration
Russia 47%, top-3 (Russia, Ukraine, Poland) about 60% of IndexBox-recorded output (2024)
IndexBox appears to omit China and parts of the technical AN market, so true concentration is lower. Firm shares not published.
IndexBox (2024), derived
New capacity
India about 0.6 Mt of new technical AN; Zimbabwe restart
India needs about 1 Mt of AN a year against about 0.70-0.75 Mt of capacity from four producers (Equipment India, 2023), and imported 410 kt in 2024 ($164.5 million, 5.1% of world import value, third-largest) (UN Comtrade). Chambal's 240 kt plant (2026) and Smartchem's 377 kt Gopalpur plant move India toward self-sufficiency in technical AN for coal mining.
Position by region
Region
Position
US
Producer and exporter (about 1.0 Mt, 16.3% of world export value, 2024); AN derivatives are a major ammonia outlet (USGS).
EU
Poland and others produce; EU tariffs on Russian fertilisers from July 2025 and CBAM from 2026 raise import costs; CRU reported AN prices remained high in July 2026.
India
About 1 Mt demand, mostly coal mining; new domestic plants replacing imports.
China
Large producer for domestic mining; figures not verified.
Japan
Small consumer; imports (not verified).
Middle East
Small; some AN in Egypt (10% export duty on nitrogen fertilisers under Decree 258 of 2026, CRU).