Fertilizer is a high-volume, price-sensitive import, and a bad cargo can cost a season. Before you commit to a fertilizer supplier, check the product, the documents, the company and the rules in your own market.
1. Define the specification precisely
- Nutrient content: for example urea 46% N, DAP 18-46-0, MOP 60% K2O, or the exact NPK formula.
- Physical properties: prilled or granular, granule size range, moisture, hardness and caking resistance.
- Impurities: limits such as biuret in urea, or heavy metals where your market regulates them.
- Packaging and marking: bulk, big bags or 50 kg bags, and the labelling your market requires.
2. Check the documents
- Certificate of analysis against the contract specification.
- Independent inspection certificate for quality and quantity at loading, for example from SGS.
- Certificate of origin, needed for preferential duty rates.
- Safety data sheet, especially for ammonium nitrate-based products.
- Product registration or import permit in your country, where required.
3. Do due diligence on the supplier
- Confirm the company in its official business register and check that its contact details match.
- Ask whether it is the producer, an appointed distributor, a mandate holder or a broker, and for evidence.
- Be wary of prices far below the market and of requests for advance fees.
- Use secure payment such as a documentary letter of credit and make inspection a condition of payment.
Our guide on how to verify an international supplier covers these checks in more detail.
4. Check the rules in your market
Many countries require fertilizers to be registered or authorised before they can be sold, and some regulate nutrient tolerances, labelling or contaminants. Some products, such as ammonium nitrate, are also controlled for safety or security reasons. Confirm the requirements with your local authority or adviser before ordering.
5. Start with a manageable contract
A first shipment of moderate size lets you test the supplier’s quality, documents and delivery before committing to a long-term contract.
Buying fertilizer from Agromer
Agromer is a distributor for a major NPK fertilizer factory in Europe and trades urea with major refineries, as well as potash, DAP and organic fertilizers. Our procedure includes an end-buyer LOI for urea, a sales and purchase agreement, payment by 100% DLC or SBLC and SGS inspection, and factories can be visited once the SPA is signed and the draft LC (MT760) is received. See our fertilizer range or request a quote.
Product and country requirements vary; take compliance advice for your market. This article is general guidance, not legal advice.