Summary

Secondary Macronutrient Market

The future of the global secondary macronutrient market looks promising with opportunities in the calcium, sulphur, and magnesium markets. The global secondary macronutrient market is expected to reach an estimated $64 billion by 2035 from $45 billion in 2027 with a CAGR of 4.3% from 2027 to 2035. The major drivers for this market are the increasing soil nutrient deficiency driving demand, the rising focus on crop yield optimization, and the growing adoption of balanced fertilization practices.

• Lucintel forecasts that, within the crop type category, fruit & vegetable is expected to witness the highest growth over the forecast period due to rising consumer demand for fresh and nutritious produce.
• Within the nutrient category, calcium will remain the largest segment over the forecast period due to increasing demand for calcium-enriched crops.
• In terms of regions, APAC is expected to witness the highest growth over the forecast period due to expanding agricultural activities and growing food consumption needs.

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Emerging Trends in Secondary Macronutrient Market

The market for secondary macronutrients is rapidly developing from bulk fertilizer toward new efficient technologies. Growers will expect returns on sulfur, calcium and magnesium investments between 2025 and 2027 as intensive agricultural practices along with regulatory pressures and nutrient depletion will drive a shift in purchasing. According to Lucintel, an important part of the company’s options for growth is precision agriculture and specialty formulations.

• Soil Health: Soil sampling will change from a periodic diagnostic tool to a constant nutrient mapping process. The USDA’s 2025 conservation programs will support precision nutrient management. Along with this, sulfur deficiency will grow in areas where slim atmospheric deposition has occurred. The demand for correcting soil deficiencies will increase, creating a growing need for efficient, balanced secondary macronutrient programs.
• Fertilizer Efficiency: There is an increasing emphasis on recovering more nutrients with fewer passes. As parts of the European Commission’s 2025 nitrogen management directives will encourage an even more restrictive approach on fertilizer application, stabilized and coated forms will become more expensive. In the next five years, during product selection, field-based efficiency data will be more important than the volume of nutrients.
• Specialty Formulations: Blended liquids, foliar products, and water solubles will continue to gain market share along with fertigation. Haifa Group expects irrigation fed agriculture to account for 20% of all cultivated land by 2025, producing approximately 40% of the world’s food. This growing trend will place greater value on integrated secondary macronutrient programs, rather than doing stand-alone commercial selling.
• Regional Supply Chains: Last year repeated disruptions caused supply chains to diversify, leading to balancing volatility including India’s 2025 fertilizer policy and a growing interest in processed gypsum and sulfur among North American buyers. Regional manufacturing and storage will drive resilient market delivery and create customer loyalty until 2030.
• Circular Inputs: Commercially viable recycled gypsum, by-products, and mineral streams are entering fertilizer supply chains. 2025 EU policy continued the emphasis on tightening rules on waste-derived products and contaminant limit restrictions. Circular sourcing will gain market share in cases where it lowers both carbon and transport outputs, while maintaining nutrient consistency.

Demand will remain associated with crop economics, but market direction indicates growers will choose the purchase of nutrient performance over tonnage. Suppliers offering thorough product testing with documented sourcing, quick regional supply, and application support will gain market value. Commodity-grade materials will remain dominant unless formulations begin to incorporate more innovative circular inputs.

Recent Developments in the Secondary Macronutrient Market

In 2025-2027, there will be more activity in the secondary macronutrient market due to factors such as soil depletion, fluctuating fertilizer prices, and the introduction of nutrient efficiency rules, which are changing how companies buy. Investments are focused on localized production and formulated products. Lucintel’s market viewpoint corresponds with significant disruptions reported by the IFA, FAO, company filings, and government programs. Demand for secondary macronutrient products is expected to become more measurable and regionally specific, as well as more demanding in terms of the agricultural applications.

• Capacity Expansion: Nutrien plans to expand potash output at its New Brunswick, Canada operation to approximately 18 million tonnes by 2026 (May 2025). Increased supply will improve the security of supply of blended sulfur, magnesium, and calcium over the next 5 years.
• Specialty Fertilizer Investment: Yara started up a new production line at its Sluiskil site in January 2025 which added about 100,000 tonnes of annual capacity for calcium nitrate. Fertigation and protected agriculture are more profitable when secondary macronutrients are offered at higher margins than bulk products.
• Technology Launch: In 2025, ICL introduced polymer-coated fertilizer with improved nutrient release for field crops to help reduce nutrient application. The extension of nutrient release will allow growers to apply more sulfur and improve fertilizer use efficiency.
• Strategic Collaboration: 2025 initiatives by Fertilizers Europe, funded by the EU, included nutrient stewardship and farm-level measurement as a collaborative goal. Secondary macronutrient products should be purchased as part of compliance programs, which should lead to improved yield and early return on the investment of secondary macronutrient products.
• Government Approval: India’s 2025 fertilizer-policy measures continue support for fortified products and maintain subsidies for major fertilizers. The government’s backing will help set up domestic formulations of fortified products and encourage manufacturers to sell more complex nutrient packages that are specific to the needs of the soil, as opposed to selling commodities.

Suppliers of fertilizers who can confirm agronomic outcomes will gain market dominance in the next three to five years. While currently bulk availability is still the main focus, the quality of formulation and regional blending, along with the guidance for application, will determine how long clients remain with a business. Farming will become more intensive and put more demands, and more focus, on nutrient accounting. There will be a larger commercial gap for generic fertilizer materials. There will be a stronger focus on performance-based solutions.

Strategic Growth Opportunities in the Secondary Macronutrient Market

The need for products sold in the secondary macronutrient market is moving further upstream from the sale of bulk nutrients. For the period between 2024 and 2026, the softening soil-health rules coupled with fluctuating fertilizer costs and the growth of precision agriculture will create new markets beyond traditional field crops. Lucintel’s market outlook advises suppliers who integrate agronomy, formulation, and market distribution, rather than competing on a unit-sold basis, will be best positioned.

• High-value Crop Nutrition: Calcium, magnesium, and sulfur formulations for horticulture may command higher margins compared to broader inferior nutrient offerings. The USDA reported in March 2025 a preliminary value of U.S. specialty crop production at $60 billion. For the next three to five years, the growing trends in protected cultivation and high-crop-quality fruit production will create a demand for crop-specific secondary macronutrient products.
• Enhanced-efficiency Products: Stabilized, coated, or blended fertilizers can help to mitigate nutrient losses and enhance nutrient use efficiency. The European Commission continued its push for the 2030 fertilizer emissions targets in January 2025. Growers will make purchases to comply with this directive, while also desiring lower field passes and greater known returns per hectare.
• Soil-reclamation Applications: Mining rehabilitation, management of saline soils, and rehabilitation of degraded land present new market opportunities outside of agricultural production. The FAO estimated in February 2025, that 33 percent of all soils are already degraded. Suppliers of gypsum, sulfur, and magnesium products stand to create recurring agreements with soil reclamation service providers over the next five years.
• Digital Agronomy Services: Software-driven solutions such as soil mapping, variable rate prescriptions, and subscription advice, can be linked to revenue from the sale of secondary (and potentially tertiary) macronutrients. In April 2025, John Deere said its connected operations platform was active on more than 250,000 machines. Data-based recommendations will move the competition to verified nutrient placement and the retention of customer service.
• Low Carbon Regional Production: Customers subject to mandatory reporting will be interested in local sourcing of low-emission processed minerals. In May 2025, Yara stated a goal to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 30% by 2030 from a 2018 baseline. Regional supply chains will capture market share as the cost of transportation and carbon reporting will influence purchasing decisions.

Producers must demonstrate and document performance in the field, measurements of emissions, and customize blends based on the needs of the crop. In the marketplace, contracts will be determined by agronomic value. Agronomic value is based on the agronomy of each specific crop in each specific field, and not on price. Shortening the adoption cycles will give a producer a market advantage if partnerships are formed with retailers, laboratories, and digital service providers. Producers that continue to sell untailored and undifferentiated tonnes will have an increased margin of loss.

Secondary Macronutrient Market Drivers and Challenges

Growth and development of the secondary macronutrient market is impacted by a plethora of technological, economic, and regulatory factors. Technological factors include the adoption of new advanced agricultural technologies and formulations of fertilizers. Economic factors include global demand and price considerations. Regulatory factors include environmental sustainability and fertilizer regulatory policies. Supply chain responsiveness and consumer awareness are market's other factors of influence. Stakeholders need to understand the growth factors along with the challenges associated to successfully develop and sustain operations for the market.

The primary drivers of the secondary macronutrient market are:

• Technological Innovation: Yield improvement technologies driven by Innovation often include formulations of fertilizers, application and delivery systems. Technologies of precision agriculture and nano-fertilizers use advanced technologies to deliver the active ingredients of fertilizers on-demand to the targeted location, minimizing waste. These technologies provide sustainable solutions to farmers and improve productivity while reducing the environment's burden and create new market opportunities. With constant investment in R&D, the agronomy industry is able to develop and adapt rural technologies to the unique needs of different farming systems, creating new and diverse market opportunities.
• Increase in Agricultural Demand: The growing population has led to an increase in demand for food and agriculture. This has led farmers to adopt the use of secondary macronutrients including magnesium, sulfur, and calcium to enhance the health of their crops and stimulate crop growth. In addition to the increase in demand for food, the increase in the demand for food in Developing Nations has generated a greater need for more specialized fertilizers, thereby increasing the market. The increased emphasis on the need for sustainable agricultural practices has driven the need to satisfy the nutritional needs of crops, and in turn increase market opportunities.
• Environmental Regulations: Environmental policies that reduce fertilizer runoff and pollution alter the market. Innovations in fertilizer technologies are spurred by these regulations. Manufacturers will be faced with compliance costs that will be challenging for smaller companies, but in the long run will have positive effects on company productivity and sustainability. The regulation of the market will be taken up as an opportunity by companies to attract more customers.
• Economic Factors: The profitability of a market is affected by various things. The costs of raw materials will fluctuate and along with it so will the global trade. Countries that are still developing will have increased demand to invest in agriculture. The converse is also true. A company market will also be negatively affected by an economy in decline. The market will also be affected by the currency exchange rates and government policies.
• Market Expansion and Innovation: The understanding of healthy soil has created the need for secondary nutrients. This has also driven the innovation of bio fertilizers and nutrient management systems. It has also encouraged other companies to provide different agricultural products to meet the varying customer needs. It has also encouraged healthy competition in the agricultural products market in both developed and developing countries.

The challenges that this Market faces are:

• Regulatory Compliance Costs: High environmental and safety compliance costs mean that companies will need to engage in a lot of research and development to develop new products. Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) will find these costs difficult to meet. The consolidation of markets will also be driven by SMEs being unable to cope with the regulatory environment. It will also mean that a company will struggle to enter the market, which will mean that the market will continue to grow at a slow rate.
• Raw Material Price Volatility: The market uses a range of raw materials such as sulfur, magnesium, and calcium compounds. Because of geopolitical risks, supply and demand imbalances, price fluctuations of these critical raw materials are unavoidable. Price fluctuations affect manufacturing profits and make it challenging for companies to keep prices low while still supplying products consistently. The uncertain nature of price fluctuations makes it difficult for companies to invest in innovation and expand in the long term.
• Environmental and Sustainability Concerns: The production and the use of fertilizers creates environmental concerns that even the creation of new regulations cannot solve. The overuse or misuse of secondary macronutrients can lead to negative consequences such as soil erosion and water contamination. Findings of such adverse and unintended consequences necessitate more research. The balance of productive farming and sustainable farming practices and methods is a continuous challenge for which market participants are responsible.

While secondary macronutrients are affected by a number of factors like innovation, the growing agriculture industry, regulations, and economics, they also face challenges such as high raw material prices, variable costs, and sustainability. All of these factors and others will affect the direction of the market, and all participants of the market will have to evolve their businesses with a focus on innovation, safety, and sustainability while managing a growing economy and increasing risks from new regulations.

List of Secondary Macronutrient Market Companies

Companies in the market compete on the basis of product quality offered. Major players in this market focus on expanding their manufacturing facilities, R&D investments, infrastructural development, and leverage integration opportunities across the value chain. Through these strategies secondary macronutrient market companies cater increasing demand, ensure competitive effectiveness, develop innovative products & technologies, reduce production costs, and expand their customer base. Some of the secondary macronutrient market companies profiled in this report include-

• Nutrien Ltd.
• Yara
• The Mosaic Company
• Israel Chemicals Ltd.
• K+S Aktiengesellschaft
• Nufarm
• SPIC
• Koch Industries, INC.
• Coromandel International Ltd
• Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd.

Secondary Macronutrient Market by Segment

The study includes a forecast for the global secondary macronutrient market by crop type, nutrient, form, application, and region.

Secondary Macronutrient Market by Crop Type [Value ($B) from 2019 to 2035]:

• Cereals & Grains
• Oilseeds & Pulses
• Fruits & Vegetables
• Others

Secondary Macronutrient Market by Nutrient [Value ($B) from 2019 to 2035]:

• Calcium
• Sulfur
• Magnesium

Secondary Macronutrient Market by Form [Value ($B) from 2019 to 2035]:

• Dry
• Liquid

Secondary Macronutrient Market by Application [Value ($B) from 2019 to 2035]:

• Liquid
• Solid

Secondary Macronutrient Market by Region [Value ($B) from 2019 to 2035]:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia Pacific
• The Rest of the World

Country Wise Outlook for the Secondary Macronutrient Market

From 2027, shifts in fertilizer-security policies and tighter trade controls are expected to reshape the supply of secondary macronutrients across the globe. Governments and producers are focusing on supply of secondary macronutrients (e.g. sulfur, calcium and magnesium) in addition to the traditional focus on phosphate and potash supplies. According to Lucintel, these changes are influencing regional supply-chain strategies.

• United States: Primary domestic policy-directed fertilizer investments continue to focus on bringing new or expanded fertilizer production facilities online. In January 2025, the USDA committed $500 million to this effort and designated funds for these new or expanded facilities. There are ongoing modernizations and expansions to production facilities for both sulfuric and phosphoric acid and production of secondary macronutrients, all of which are expected to improve production capacity, reduce the need for imported sulfur and finished fertilizers, and improve the supply of secondary nutrients in the next three to five years.
• China: During 2025 export controls on selected phosphate fertilizers persisted, as did a cautious export policy for the Chinese domestic phosphate fertilizer market, which supported ongoing integration of sulfuric acid and phosphate fertilizer production. As regional supply and demand shift, pricing is expected to remain elevated through 2020.
• Germany: K+S continued construction of its new 2.6 million tonne per year potash mine (Bethune) in Canada and potassium and sulfur fertilizer production in Europe in 2025. The ultimate purpose of this integrated production is improved supply of magnesium-based fertilizers through K+S, which allows German agriculture to procure supply from various sources.
• India: The Government maintained the support of the Nutrient Based Subsidy for Phosphatic and Potassic fertilizers, including sulfur-containing grades for the period of April to September 2025 at Rs.37,216 Crore. Further, Coromandel International invested to increase capacity of phosphoric acid and fertilizers at Kakinada. Coordination of Government policies and investments in capacity incentivize the use of balanced fertilizers and should improve availability of fertilizers in the medium term.
• Japan: The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in Japan set the target of 45% self-sufficiency of food by 2030 in its fifth Strategic Plan for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in April 2025. It promotes management of soil and efficient use of fertilizers in the domestic market and co-operatives for manufacturing of calcium, magnesium and sulfur based products. This focus is likely to maintain demand for specialty secondary nutrients in the next five years.

Features of the Global Secondary Macronutrient Market
Market Size Estimates: secondary macronutrient market size estimation in terms of value ($B).
Trend and Forecast Analysis: Market trends (2019 to 2026) and forecast (2027 to 2035) by various segments and regions.
Segmentation Analysis: secondary macronutrient market size by various segments, such as by crop type, nutrient, form, application, and region in terms of value ($B).
Regional Analysis: secondary macronutrient market breakdown by North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World.
Growth Opportunities: Analysis of growth opportunities in different crop types, nutrients, forms, applications, and regions for the secondary macronutrient market.
Strategic Analysis: This includes M&A, new product development, and competitive landscape of the secondary macronutrient market.
Analysis of competitive intensity of the industry based on Porter’s Five Forces model.

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This report answers following 11 key questions:
Q.1. What are some of the most promising, high-growth opportunities for the secondary macronutrient market by crop type (cereals & grains, oilseeds & pulses, fruits & vegetables, and others), nutrient (calcium, sulfur, and magnesium), form (dry and liquid), application (liquid and solid), and region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of the World)?
Q.2. Which segments will grow at a faster pace and why?
Q.3. Which region will grow at a faster pace and why?
Q.4. What are the key factors affecting market dynamics? What are the key challenges and business risks in this market?
Q.5. What are the business risks and competitive threats in this market?
Q.6. What are the emerging trends in this market and the reasons behind them?
Q.7. What are some of the changing demands of customers in the market?
Q.8. What are the new developments in the market? Which companies are leading these developments?
Q.9. Who are the major players in this market? What strategic initiatives are key players pursuing for business growth?
Q.10. What are some of the competing products in this market and how big of a threat do they pose for loss of market share by material or product substitution?
Q.11. What M&A activity has occurred in the last 5 years and what has its impact been on the industry?

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Table of Contents

Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary
2. Market Overview
2.1 Background and Classifications
2.2 Supply Chain
3. Market Trends & Forecast Analysis
3.1 Macroeconomic Trends and Forecasts
3.2 Industry Drivers and Challenges
3.3 PESTLE Analysis
3.4 Patent Analysis
3.5 Regulatory Environment
3.6 Global Secondary Macronutrient Market Trends and Forecast
4. Global Secondary Macronutrient Market by Crop Type
4.1 Overview
4.2 Attractiveness Analysis by Crop Type
4.3 Cereals & Grains : Trends and Forecast (2019 to 2035)
4.4 Oilseeds & Pulses : Trends and Forecast (2019 to 2035)
4.5 Fruits & Vegetables : Trends and Forecast (2019 to 2035)
4.6 Others : Trends and Forecast (2019 to 2035)
5. Global Secondary Macronutrient Market by Nutrient
5.1 Overview
5.2 Attractiveness Analysis by Nutrient
5.3 Calcium : Trends and Forecast (2019 to 2035)
5.4 Sulfur : Trends and Forecast (2019 to 2035)
5.5 Magnesium : Trends and Forecast (2019 to 2035)
6. Global Secondary Macronutrient Market by Form
6.1 Overview
6.2 Attractiveness Analysis by Form
6.3 Dry : Trends and Forecast (2019 to 2035)
6.4 Liquid : Trends and Forecast (2019 to 2035)
7. Global Secondary Macronutrient Market by Application
7.1 Overview
7.2 Attractiveness Analysis by Application
7.3 Liquid : Trends and Forecast (2019 to 2035)
7.4 Solid : Trends and Forecast (2019 to 2035)
8. Regional Analysis
8.1 Overview
8.2 Global Secondary Macronutrient Market by Region
9. North American Secondary Macronutrient Market
9.1 Overview
9.2 North American Secondary Macronutrient Market by Crop Type
9.3 North American Secondary Macronutrient Market by Nutrient
9.4 The United States Secondary Macronutrient Market
9.5 Canadian Secondary Macronutrient Market
9.6 Mexican Secondary Macronutrient Market
10. European Secondary Macronutrient Market
10.1 Overview
10.2 European Secondary Macronutrient Market by Crop Type
10.3 European Secondary Macronutrient Market by Nutrient
10.4 German Secondary Macronutrient Market
10.5 French Secondary Macronutrient Market
10.6 Italian Secondary Macronutrient Market
10.7 Spanish Secondary Macronutrient Market
10.8 The United Kingdom Secondary Macronutrient Market
11. APAC Secondary Macronutrient Market
11.1 Overview
11.2 APAC Secondary Macronutrient Market by Crop Type
11.3 APAC Secondary Macronutrient Market by Nutrient
11.4 Chinese Secondary Macronutrient Market
11.5 Indian Secondary Macronutrient Market
11.6 Japanese Secondary Macronutrient Market
11.7 South Korean Secondary Macronutrient Market
11.8 Indonesian Secondary Macronutrient Market
12. ROW Secondary Macronutrient Market
12.1 Overview
12.2 ROW Secondary Macronutrient Market by Crop Type
12.3 ROW Secondary Macronutrient Market by Nutrient
12.4 Middle Eastern Secondary Macronutrient Market
12.5 South American Secondary Macronutrient Market
12.6 African Secondary Macronutrient Market
13. Competitor Analysis
13.1 Product Portfolio Analysis
13.2 Operational Integration
13.3 Porter’s Five Forces Analysis
• Competitive Rivalry
• Bargaining Power of Buyers
• Bargaining Power of Suppliers
• Threat of Substitutes
• Threat of New Entrants
13.4 Market Share Analysis
14. Opportunities & Strategic Analysis
14.1 Value Chain Analysis
14.2 Growth Opportunity Analysis
14.2.1 Growth Opportunity by Crop Type
14.2.2 Growth Opportunity by Nutrient
14.2.3 Growth Opportunity by Form
14.2.4 Growth Opportunity by Application
14.2.5 Growth Opportunity by Region
14.3 Emerging Trends in the Global Secondary Macronutrient Market
14.4 Strategic Analysis
14.4.1 New Product Development
14.4.2 Certification and Licensing
14.4.3 Mergers, Acquisitions, Agreements, Collaborations, and Joint Ventures
15. Company Profiles of the Leading Players Across the Value Chain
15.1 Competitive Analysis Overview
15.2 Nutrien Ltd.
• Company Overview
• Secondary Macronutrient Market Business Overview
• New Product Development
• Merger, Acquisition, and Collaboration
• Certification and Licensing
15.3 Yara
• Company Overview
• Secondary Macronutrient Market Business Overview
• New Product Development
• Merger, Acquisition, and Collaboration
• Certification and Licensing
15.4 The Mosaic Company
• Company Overview
• Secondary Macronutrient Market Business Overview
• New Product Development
• Merger, Acquisition, and Collaboration
• Certification and Licensing
15.5 Israel Chemicals Ltd.
• Company Overview
• Secondary Macronutrient Market Business Overview
• New Product Development
• Merger, Acquisition, and Collaboration
• Certification and Licensing
15.6 K+S Aktiengesellschaft
• Company Overview
• Secondary Macronutrient Market Business Overview
• New Product Development
• Merger, Acquisition, and Collaboration
• Certification and Licensing
15.7 Nufarm
• Company Overview
• Secondary Macronutrient Market Business Overview
• New Product Development
• Merger, Acquisition, and Collaboration
• Certification and Licensing
15.8 SPIC
• Company Overview
• Secondary Macronutrient Market Business Overview
• New Product Development
• Merger, Acquisition, and Collaboration
• Certification and Licensing
15.9 Koch Industries, INC.
• Company Overview
• Secondary Macronutrient Market Business Overview
• New Product Development
• Merger, Acquisition, and Collaboration
• Certification and Licensing
15.10 Coromandel International Ltd
• Company Overview
• Secondary Macronutrient Market Business Overview
• New Product Development
• Merger, Acquisition, and Collaboration
• Certification and Licensing
15.11 Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd.
• Company Overview
• Secondary Macronutrient Market Business Overview
• New Product Development
• Merger, Acquisition, and Collaboration
• Certification and Licensing
16. Appendix
16.1 List of Figures
16.2 List of Tables
16.3 Research Methodology
16.4 Disclaimer
16.5 Copyright
16.6 Abbreviations and Technical Units
16.7 About Us
16.8 Contact Us