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Potash facts

Potash is the common name given to a group of minerals and chemicals that contain potassium (chemical symbol K), which is a basic nutrient for plants and an important ingredient in fertilizer.

Potash is produced mostly in the form of potassium chloride (KCl), also known as muriate of potash (MOP). However, because deposits can have different amounts of potassium, potash is also often measured and referred to in terms of potassium oxide (K2O) equivalence for consistency.

Key facts

  • Potash is primarily used to produce fertilizer.
  • Canada is the world’s largest producer and exporter of potash.
  • Canada has the world’s largest potash reserves, with 1.1 billion tonnes of potash (potassium oxide equivalent).

Learn more about potash

Uses

Potash is used primarily in fertilizers (approximately 95%) to support plant growth, increase crop yield and disease resistance, and enhance water preservation. Small quantities are used in manufacturing potassium-bearing chemicals such as:

  • detergents
  • ceramics
  • pharmaceuticals
  • water conditioners
  • alternatives to de-icing salt

Potassium is an essential element of the human diet, required for the growth and maintenance of tissues, muscles and organs, as well as the electrical activity of the heart. No substitute exists for potassium as an essential plant nutrient and as an essential nutritional requirement for animals and humans.

Production

Potash in Canada is mined from underground deposits, either by conventional underground ore mining or by injecting water into the underground ore body and extracting the resulting brine (solution mining).

Canada’s 10 active mines, which are all in Saskatchewan, produced an estimated 24.6 million tonnes of potash in 2022, an increase of 1.3 million tonnes from 2021.

Three companies account for all potash production in Canada: Nutrien Ltd., The Mosaic Company, and, since 2017, German fertilizer producer K+S Potash Canada.

BHP is developing the Jansen Stage 1 (S1) potash project in Saskatchewan, which is anticipated to start production in 2026. Jansen S1 is expected to produce approximately 4.35 million tonnes per year.

Consult a map of producing Canadian mines

Canadian production of potash (potassium chloride), 2013–2022 (p)

bar chart
Text version

This bar chart shows Canada’s annual mine production of potash from 2013 to 2022. Production was 16.5 million tonnes in 2012 before steadily increasing to 18.8 million tonnes in 2015. It then decreased slightly to 17.9 million tonnes in 2016 before increasing to 22.7 million tonnes in 2018. Production in 2019 decreased to 20.9 million tonnes but rebounded to 22.4 million tonnes in 2020 and has continued to increase to 24.6 million tonnes in 2022.

International context

Find out more about potash production on an international scale.

World production of potash (potassium chloride), by country, 2022 (p)
Ranking Country Tonnes (thousands) Percentage of total
1 Canada 24,579 38.0%
2 Russia 11,624 18.0%
3 China 7,663 12.0%
4 Belarus 6,310 10.0%
5 Israel 3,973 6.1%
- Other countries 10,460 16.2%
Total   64,609 100.0%

Global potash production was estimated at 64.6 million tonnes in 2022. Canada is the world’s largest potash producer, accounting for 38% of the world’s total in 2022.

Three countries (Canada, Russia, and Belarus) typically account for the majority of global potash production and in 2022 were responsible for approximately 66% of the world’s production. In 2022, China overtook Belarus as the third-largest global producer when Belarusian production declined because of factors related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and sanctions on the sole potash producer in Belarus.

World production of potash (potassium chloride), 2013–2022 (p)

bar chart
Text version

This bar chart shows the world’s production of potash from 2013 to 2022. Production was 53.2 million tonnes in 2013 and increased steadily to 71.9 million tonnes in 2021 before falling to 64.6 million tonnes in 2022.

In 2022, the global reserves of potash were estimated at more than 3.3 billion tonnes (potassium oxide equivalent). Canada had the largest reserves with 1.1 billion tonnes. The following table shows the leading potash reserves by country.

World reserves of potash (potassium oxide equivalent), by country, 2022 (p)
Ranking Country Recoverable ore
(million tonnes)
Potassium oxide equivalent
(million tonnes)
1 Canada 4,500 1,100
2 Belarus 3,300 750
3 Russia N/A 400
4 United States 970 220
5 China N/A 170
6 Germany N/A 150
- Other countries 2,230 510
Total   >11,000 >3,300

Trade

Canada is the world’s largest exporter of potash. In 2022, Canada exported 21.3 million tonnes of potash, accounting for 46% of the world’s total exports.

Canadian exports of potash (potassium chloride), 2013–2022 (p)

bar chart
Text version

This bar chart shows Canadian potash exports from 2013 to 2022. Exports were 16.0 million tonnes in 2013 and reached a minor peak of 17.9 million tonnes in 2015. A slight decrease to 16.0 million tonnes in 2016 was followed by an increase to a 10-year peak of 21.9 million tonnes in 2018. Exports then decreased to 19.5 million tonnes in 2019 before increasing to 21.3 million tonnes in 2020. Exports remain about the same in 2021 and 2022 at 21.6 million and 21.3 million tonnes, respectively.

Three countries (Canada, Belarus and Russia) accounted for 74% of the potash traded internationally in 2022.

World exports of potash (potassium chloride), 2022 (p)
Ranking Country Tonnes (thousands) Percentage of total
1 Canada 21,306 46.1%
2 Russia 7,964 17.2%
3 Belarus 4,935 10.7%
4 Israel 3,529 7.6%
5 Germany 3,241 7.0%
- Other countries 5,239 11.3%
Total   46,215 100%

World exports of potash (potassium chloride), 2013–2022 (p)

bar chart
Text version

This bar chart shows world potash exports from 2013 to 2022. Exports were at 40.7 million tonnes in 2013. Exports steadily increased to 48.8 million tonnes in 2014, but then decreased to 45.4 million tonnes in 2016. Exports increased to a 10-year peak of 56.7 million tonnes in 2021 before decreasing to 46.2 million tonnes in 2022.

Prices

Potash prices were in decline from 2013 until 2016 and remained relatively low until 2020. In 2021, global potash prices increased in response to strong global demand, ending the year at US$807/tonne. Potash prices surged to record highs in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, peaking at US$1,202/tonne in April. While prices moderated in the second half of the year, they remained above historical levels.

Potassium chloride prices, 2013–2022

line chart
Text version

This line chart shows monthly potassium chloride prices in United States dollars per tonne, from 2013 to 2022. Prices averaged US$395 in 2013 and then gradually declined to a low of $207 in late 2016. Prices surged in late 2021, peaking at US$1,202 in April 2022. Prices then declined to US$514 at the end of 2022.

Notes and sources

(p) preliminary

f.o.b. free on board

Totals may be different because of rounding.

Production

  • Canadian production of potash (potassium chloride), 2013–2022 (p)
    • Natural Resources Canada

International context

  • World production of potash (potassium chloride), by country, 2022 (p)
    • Natural Resources Canada; CRU
  • World production of potash (potassium chloride), 2013–2022 (p)
    • Natural Resources Canada; CRU
  • World reserves of potash (potassium oxide equivalent), by country, 2022 (p)
    • Mineral Commodity Summaries 2023, U.S. Geological Survey

Trade

  • Canadian exports of potash (potassium chloride), 2013–2022 (p)
    • Natural Resources Canada
  • World exports of potash (potassium chloride), 2022 (p)
    • Natural Resources Canada; CRU
  • World exports of potash (potassium chloride), 2013–2022 (p)
    • Natural Resources Canada; CRU

Prices

  • Potassium chloride prices, 2013–2022
    • f.o.b. Vancouver, January 2013 to December 2019
    • Brazil CFR granular spot price from January 2020 onward
    • The World Bank

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