DAP and MAP
Diammonium and monoammonium phosphate: the granules that carry most of the world's phosphorus fertiliser, made from rock, sulphur and ammonia.
Commodity chemicals · Nitrogen & phosphate chemicals · No. 22
- Single chemical
- Feedstock: Minerals and salts
- about 60 Mt of DAP and MAP product a year (indicative, basis: roughly 58% of 47.8 Mt P2O5 fertiliser use in 2025 at an average 48% P2O5; not a published total)
- 0.7 t CO₂e per t
- HS 310530, 310540
India imports two-thirds of the DAP its farmers use, and nearly every input behind the rest comes by sea too.
Chart: Illustration: DAP and MAP
Where it comes from
Chart: Map of where it comes from
Phosphate rock is dissolved in sulphuric acid to make phosphoric acid, which is neutralised with ammonia and granulated into DAP (18-46-0) or MAP (11-52-0).
Three things to know
- Each tonne of DAP takes about 1.7 t of rock, 0.4 t of sulphur and 0.22 t of ammonia, so sulphur matters as much as phosphate.
- India sold 9.40 Mt of DAP in FY2026, made 3.90 Mt and imported 6.22 Mt.
- India's DAP imports from China fell from 2.29 Mt in FY2024 to 0.84 Mt in FY2025 as Chinese export licences tightened.
The journey
- 1 Phosphate rockAbout 1.7 t rock per tonne
- 2 Sulphuric acidFrom about 0.4 t burnt sulphur
- 3 Phosphoric acidRock dissolved, gypsum left behind
- 4 Ammoniation0.22 t ammonia added, then granulated
- 5 Bulk shipmentFrom Morocco, Saudi Arabia, China, Russia
- 6 FarmSold in India at controlled prices