DAP and MAP: Relationships
Every element and industry that DAP and MAP is linked to, and how. Each pair has its own card explaining the relationships between the two.
- Phosphoric acid: DAP and MAP are phosphoric acid neutralised with ammonia, so acid is their main input and price driver. For India the choice is between importing finished DAP, importing acid and granulating at home, or importing rock and making acid, and its quarterly acid contract with Moroccan and Jordanian suppliers is a key cost benchmark. (researched)
- Ammonia: Ammonia supplies all the nitrogen in DAP and MAP, so phosphate fertiliser costs carry an ammonia price on top of phosphoric acid. India imports finished DAP and much of the ammonia and acid to make it, so ammonia shocks reach Indian farms through the subsidy. (researched)
- Phosphate rock: DAP and MAP are the main products made from phosphate rock: each tonne of DAP needs about 1.5 to 2 tonnes of rock, turned into phosphoric acid and reacted with ammonia. Rock supply is concentrated in China and Morocco, and India, the largest DAP importer, depends on imports for about 90% of its rock. (researched)
- Sulfur: Phosphate fertiliser plants burn sulphur to make the sulphuric acid that dissolves phosphate rock, using about 0.4 tonnes of sulphur per tonne of DAP. Sulphur supply is set by oil and gas processing rather than by fertiliser demand, so sulphur price spikes, such as the rise from under USD 100 to over USD 1,000 a tonne between 2024 and 2026, pass straight into DAP costs. (researched)
- Natural gas: Natural gas is a raw material for DAP and MAP.
- Nitrogen (ammonia): Their prices have moved together.
- Potash: Their prices have moved together.
- Rice: Their prices have moved together.
- Sulphuric acid: Their prices have moved together.
- Urea: Their prices have moved together.