German imports of MOP and NPKs fell during the 2019-20 European agriculture year, but DAP shipments rose by 42pc.
DAP imports climbed to 320,000t in July 2019-June 2020, putting them at their highest since the 2015-16 season, GTT data show.
German imports of key nitrogen products fell during the 12-month period. But DAP — although principally a phosphate fertilizer — filled some of the nitrogen gap.
Deliveries from Lithuania — representing output from producer Eurochem's Lifosa facility — climbed by around 50pc to 96,000t.
DAP imports from Russia rose by 91pc to 73,000t, while deliveries from Poland were up by 46pc at 71,000t.
But shipments from Belgium to Germany decreased by a fifth to 38,000t. Prayon — a Belgian subsidiary of Moroccan fertilizer producer OCP and the Regional Investment Company of Wallonia — produces DAP in Belgium, although some of the total may have been re-exports.
Germany's 2019-20 NPK imports fell by 5pc on the year to 347,000t, but the market may have expected a sharper drop.
The country's NPK imports have generally decreased in recent years, as a central emphasis of Germany's fertilizer regulations is on efficiency, including the need to accurately match nutrient applications to crop requirements. Complex fertilizers may provide nutrients that farmland does not necessarily require at a given time, so demand for them is expected to continue to fall.
NPK deliveries from Belgium to Germany decreased by 13pc on the year to 110,000t in 2019-20, while imports from Austria fell by 15pc to 45,000t.
Shipments from the Netherlands slipped by 1pc to 58,000t, while imports from Poland dropped by 2pc to 55,000t.
NPK deliveries from Finland decreased by 18pc to 28,000t.
German MOP imports fell by 8pc in 2019-20 to 123,000t, as re-exports to the country from the Netherlands decreased by 58pc to 29,000t.
But shipments from Israel — representing producer ICL — climbed by 415pc to 38,000t.
The German MOP market is mostly covered by domestic producer K+S.
