Madhumitha Jaganmohan
Research expert covering climate and environmental sustainability
Global potash industry - statistics & facts
Potash is a mineral salt that contains water-soluble potassium, which can be mined from naturally occurring sources or manufactured. Most commonly, potash refers to potassium carbonate or potassium chloride, which is also known as muriate of potash. It is mainly used as a fertilizer, which can take the form of a variety of potash products. The total production volume of potash worldwide amounted to an estimated 64.6 million metric tons in 2022.
Major potash producing countries
Canada is by far the world’s largest potash producing country, having produced some 24.5 million metric tons in 2022. That accounted for 38 percent of the total global potash produced that year. The Canadian province Saskatchewan has the world’s largest potash reserves. Following Canada, Russia and Belarus are the world’s second- and fourth-leading potash producing countries, with Russia’s potash production amounting to 11.6 million metric tons in 2022, and Belarus’ potash production amounting to an estimated 6.3 million metric tons that year. Nearly 19 million metric tons of the global potash produced in 2022 was considered to have been produced by politically unstable countries.Potash mining companies
Based in Saskatchewan, Nutrien’s potash production amounted to over 13 million metric tons in 2023. Another leading potash producer is the Chilean mining company Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA (SQM). The multinational mining company BHP’s Jansen Potash Project that is under development in Saskatchewan is anticipated to produce 4.35 metric tons of potash annually, and will be one of the world’s largest potash mines. Overall, the companies exhibit a positive forecast for future market expansion, and the industry is drawing in investors for increased production.
