Colombia Takes First Step Toward Producing its Own Fertilizers

Colombia, a country traditionally dependent on fertilizer imports, has just taken its first step toward beginning to produce these materials and leaving behind its dependence on foreign supplies.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Government of the department of Huila joined efforts to advance the feasibility study for a fertilizer plant that would allow these products to be manufactured in the country, reduce costs and strengthen the productive sovereignty of Colombia’s agricultural sector.

The announcement was made by Agriculture Minister Indalecio Dangond Baquero and the governor of Huila and former Agriculture Minister, Rodrigo Villalba. Both agreed that the future of agriculture requires moving from dependence on imports toward a strategy of domestic production of the inputs needed by the agricultural sector.

Creation of a mixed-ownership company

In recent years, fertilizer imports have risen from 1.8 million metric tons to more than two million. In 2023, 1,969,415 metric tons were imported, while in 2024 the figure reached 2,041,825 metric tons.

In 2025, there was growth of close to 4.5% compared with the immediately preceding year, reaching 2,132,600 metric tons. Nearly 90% of the domestic market is supplied through the importation of raw materials and finished products.

The initiative between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Government of Huila includes the creation of a mixed-ownership company, with participation also from Finagro’s Venture Capital Fund, the National Federation of Coffee Growers and representatives of sugarcane and cocoa producers.

“We cannot continue depending exclusively on fertilizer imports,” Minister Dangond Baquero stated, quoted in a statement from the ministry. “Colombia has producers, territory, knowledge and the capacity to begin manufacturing here the inputs our agricultural sector needs. We are going to work so that producing food in Colombia is cheaper and more profitable.”

The plant would initially have the capacity to meet the demand of Huila and would project its coverage toward other departments and regions such as Valle del Cauca, Cauca, the Coffee Region and the Altillanura, becoming a strategic instrument to reduce the vulnerability of the agricultural sector to international prices and disruptions in global supply chains.

The goal is to produce more in Colombia, import less and lower production costs for our farmers. “This is not just a fertilizer plant. It is a commitment to productive sovereignty, food security and the profitability of the peasant farmer,” the minister added. “We want a greater share of the value that today remains in international supply chains to stay in Colombia and reach the producer.”

Main fertilizer importers in Colombia

With this alliance, the national government is advancing a new policy to reduce the cost of inputs, strengthen the peasant economy and build a more productive, competitive Colombian agricultural sector that is less dependent on foreign supplies. Producing our own inputs is producing sovereignty. And producing sovereignty means protecting the pockets of our peasant farmers.

In Colombia, the main fertilizer importer is the Norwegian multinational Yara, which retains its leadership in the market. According to data from Cesar Palacio in an article published in Agronegocios, in 2025 it registered nearly 423,000 metric tons imported. It represents 19.8% of total fertilizer imports in the country.

Precisagro, belonging to the Guatemalan group Disagro, has maintained a growth trajectory since its founding. It ranks second in imports and competes for second place in sales with Monomeros and Nitrofert, according to Palacio. Precisagro represents 13.2% of the national total.

The combined share of Nitrofert + Nitrocaribe reached nearly 265,000 metric tons in 2025. This organization represented 12.4% of the country’s total fertilizer imports, showing pronounced growth in just a few years. They are followed by Evoagro + XTS Colombia, which recorded close to 200,000 metric tons, equivalent to 9.2% of the country’s imports.

These are the main players and they account for nearly 80% of imports in Colombia.

Palacio also identifies the composition of fertilizer imports and observes which products carry the greatest weight within the market. Urea represented more than 30% of imports in 2025, with nearly 650,000 metric tons, while ammonium sulfate was around 196,000 metric tons. Thus, nitrogen fertilizers as a whole consolidate 40% of the market.

Meanwhile, potassium chloride reached 460,000 metric tons (21.5%), followed by DAP and MAP, which together totaled 274,000 metric tons (12.9%). Likewise, imports of nearly 205,000 metric tons of NPK, 64,000 of kieserite, nearly 43,000 of amides and 240,232 corresponding to other products were recorded.