Mexican imports of fertilizers originating in Russia totaled 503 million dollars in 2021, which represented an increase of 44.2% year-on-year and a historical maximum.
With this, the Russian supply of fertilizers to the Mexican market reached 24% of the total of those imports from all over the world. Russia is the largest exporter of fertilizers on the planet, with sales of more than 7,000 million dollars annually.
Russia’s share of world fertilizer exports was 12.6% in 2020, the latest data available, according to data from the World Trade Organization (WTO).
In turn, Mexico’s main dependence on Russian products is on fertilizers. Overall, Russia’s mineral fuel exports accounted for about half of its total foreign merchandise sales, followed by manufacturing exports.
Russia’s merchandise exports also remain geographically concentrated, albeit less and less so. In 2020, the main destination for merchandise exports was the European Union, followed by Asia.
In this framework, the Mexican government seeks to boost the production of fertilizers, since local manufacturing is not enough to meet national demand.
Of the 215,697 square kilometers of planted land throughout the country, 66.8% is fertilized. Six states concentrate 43% of the total fertilized land: Jalisco (8.3%), Sinaloa (8.1%), Veracruz (7.2%), Michoacán (6.8%), Chihuahua (6.8%) and Guanajuato (5.9 percent).
According to independent projections, the use of fertilizers has experienced significant growth over the last decade and will continue to grow in the years to come.