Potassium and sulphur sales amounted to 27 500 tonnes (up four percent) and 28 500 tonnes (up six percent) respectively.

Statistics Sweden produces statistics on sales of fertilisers for agricultural and horticultural purposes. The data is collected from manufacturers, importers and trading companies of fertilisers.

Results vary between years, depending on stock changes at the farms, expected price changes or changes in taxes and charges. In such cases, the results do not reflect actual use. Normally, high price levels on crop outputs increase the optimal nitrogen fertilisation level.

The cultivation of winter wheat, sown in autumn, reached record highs in 2013/14, 2014/15 2015/16 and 2016/17. Autumn sown crops have a greater need of fertiliser, especially nitrogen, than spring sown crops. In 2016/17, total production of cereals increased by 9 percent compared with last year and by 8 percent compared with the last five-year average. Winter wheat production accounts for half of the production. Adjustments in application rates of nutrients based on expectations of high yields may be one of the main reasons for the increase in sales of fertilisers in 2016/17.

Farmers’ fertiliser application rates vary according to soil type, season, crop variety, farm policy, etc. More detailed information on the use and handling of fertilisers, based on interviews with farmers, is published intermittently. Data for 2015/16 was published in 2017 in the report “Use of fertilisers and animal manure in agriculture in 2015/16” (MI 30 SM 1702).

A more detailed Statistical Report is available at www.scb.se/MI1002. 

The next publication in this series is scheduled for publishing in April 2019.