Practitioners engaged in foreign trade of agricultural chemicals generally feel this year that the export control standards for phosphate fertilizers in 2026 will be much stricter than in previous years.
Many companies have finalized overseas customer orders, completed factory stocking, and even locked shipping space in advance. However, they ended up getting stuck in the export declaration process and were unable to declare for inspection and clearance normally. They were forced to withdraw the cargo and ship the goods to the port, resulting in tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of yuan in demurrage and storage fees, causing unnecessary losses.
According to statistics from front-line port operations, the vast majority of cases where phosphate fertilizer exports are blocked are not due to cargo quality issues, but are caused by human factors such as companies’ unfamiliarity with the latest export rules for 2026, unclear distinction between agricultural and industrial categories, and non-compliance of customs declaration materials.
1. New Regulations on Phosphate Fertilizer Export Control in 2026 (Uniform Implementation Standards at National Ports)
In order to ensure domestic spring agricultural production and stabilize domestic agricultural input market prices, my country implements phased export controls on fertilizer categories in the first half of each year. The 2026 phosphate fertilizer export restriction rules have been officially implemented and will be implemented uniformly at all ports across the country without special accommodation channels.
Core control rules: From March 14 to August 31, 2026, the export of agricultural phosphate fertilizers and agricultural phosphorus-containing compound fertilizers will be suspended nationwide
During the control period, the customs will close all inspection and customs declaration channels for agricultural phosphate fertilizers, and implement zero approval and zero release standards.
Regardless of whether it is a new order declaration or goods that have been declared but not released before, all shipments are suspended and must wait for the end of the control before normal customs clearance can be completed.
After the control period ends, that is, from September 1, 2026, agricultural phosphate fertilizers will fully resume normal exports. This is also the core time node for all phosphate fertilizer foreign trade companies to ship in the second half of the year.
This control only targets agricultural fertilizer categories: all agricultural diammonium phosphate (DAP), agricultural monoammonium phosphate (MAP), ordinary superphosphate, double superphosphate, various agricultural phosphorus-containing compound fertilizers, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium blended fertilizers and other phosphorus-containing fertilizers used for agricultural planting are all included in the embargo.
Industrial-grade phosphorus-containing products are not subject to control throughout the process and can be declared and exported normally. Currently, exempted categories that can be exported stably and compliant include purified phosphoric acid, feed-grade phosphate, industrial-grade iron phosphate, yellow phosphorus, industrial phosphorus-containing additives and other non-agricultural chemical raw materials.
The core criteria for customs to determine categories are product usage and official ingredient test reports. Companies must not get past customs by changing packaging or product names. Such behavior will 100% be discovered by customs big data verification. In the smallest case, the order will be returned and reworked, or in the worst case, it will be judged as a false declaration, leaving a record of corporate violations, which will affect all subsequent import and export business.
II. Guidelines for accurate classification of HS codes for phosphate fertilizer exports in 2026
In the customs declaration and inspection process of phosphate fertilizer exports, HS code classification errors account for more than 80% of all problems.
The HS codes of agricultural phosphate fertilizers and industrial-grade phosphorus products are completely different. Once the wrong code is selected, it will directly trigger manual inspection by the customs and detain the goods.
Combined with the latest customs classification standards in 2026, the commonly used precise codes and control status of exports are summarized as follows:
- Diammonium phosphate (DAP, HS 31053000): standard agricultural phosphate fertilizer, export prohibited during the control period
- Monoammonium phosphate (MAP, HS 31054000): high-concentration agricultural phosphate fertilizer, a key controlled category
- Superphosphate (HS 31031100): basic agricultural phosphate fertilizer, included in the phased embargo catalog
- Agricultural phosphorus-containing compound fertilizer (HS 3105 category): Export declaration is suspended for all categories
- Industrial-grade phosphates and non-agricultural phosphorus products: use independent and exclusive HS codes, do not belong to the chemical fertilizer control category, and can be exported normally throughout the year
3. Necessary customs declaration information and shipping practices for phosphate fertilizer exports
Phosphate fertilizer belongs to the statutory commodity inspection category, which is different from ordinary goods and has stricter procedures.
It is recommended that all companies with shipment plans in the second half of the year prepare all the information and complete the filing in advance to avoid delays in shipping schedules due to incomplete or expired information during the intensive shipment in September.
A complete set of necessary information for export includes: enterprise import and export qualifications, customs declaration and inspection filing documents; product composition test reports and quality analysis reports (core certificates for distinguishing between agricultural and industrial grades); basic trade documents such as foreign trade contracts, commercial invoices, and packing lists; shipping booking orders, formal customs declarations; certificates of origin, fumigation reports, health inspection certificates and other documents supplemented according to the requirements of the destination country.
Special reminder: Phosphate fertilizer commodity inspection reports have a fixed validity period. Old reports that have not been shipped for a long time must be reviewed and updated in advance. It is prohibited to use expired information for declaration.
Improper operation in the shipping process can also easily lead to cargo damage and inspection abnormalities. Phosphate fertilizers are mostly packed in powder or granular bags, which absorb moisture and are easy to scatter. If long-distance shipping is not operated in a standardized manner, it is easy to cause moisture agglomeration, cargo pile collapse, and leakage contamination, leading to the detention of goods at the destination port and customer claims.
The packaging must be uniformly sealed in double-layered woven bags with a tight and firm seal. The outer packaging must be clearly marked with the product name, net weight, place of origin, and batch, and meet domestic and foreign inspection standards. When loading into containers, it must be stacked neatly in layers, and the strapping must be reinforced throughout the process to prevent the cargo pile from collapsing due to bumpy shipping and tilting of the ship’s hull.
, the cabinet should be protected against moisture and rain to isolate seawater moisture; phosphate fertilizer is very easy to absorb moisture and is not suitable for long-term open-air stacking. Try to ensure seamless connection between stock preparation, booking, and container loading, and rapid shipment. When selecting routes, give priority to routes with stable direct flights and fast timeliness to reduce the risk of transit detention.
4. Prediction of phosphate fertilizer export market trends in the second half of 2026
In the first half of the year, the export of agricultural phosphate fertilizers nationwide was suspended, domestic inventories continued to accumulate, the supply gap in overseas markets continued to expand, and the price difference advantage between domestic and foreign markets continued to highlight.
It is generally predicted in the industry that after the policy is lifted on September 1, 2026, phosphate fertilizer export orders will usher in a concentrated explosion. At that time, there will be tight shipping spaces, rising freight prices, and difficulty in obtaining tickets.
Factories and foreign trade companies with export plans for the second half of the year do not need to wait until September to make temporary preparations. At this stage, they can make product compliance determinations, document filings, and customer lock orders in advance, lock in high-quality shipping slots in advance, and ship goods at staggered peaks. This can not only seize market dividends, but also avoid freight peaks.
Overall, the phosphate fertilizer export pattern in 2026 is very clear: control and accumulation in the first half of the year, and concentrated expansion in the second half of the year.
At this stage, as long as we distinguish between agricultural and industrial categories, do not take any chances in making illegal declarations, and complete export information in advance, we can avoid most shipment risks.
As agricultural input foreign trade supervision becomes more and more standardized, compliant shipments and advance planning have become the core keys for phosphate fertilizer foreign trade companies to receive stable orders and achieve long-term development.
