Phosphorus – Uses, Prices, and Production

This blog is the fifteenth in a series of blogs I plan to write providing use, price, and production data on high-use inorganic and organic chemicals.  Click here to see the first blog in this series and a list of chemicals to be featured.  This blog provides data on phosphorus.  The primary purpose of these blogs is to present estimates of recent price, production, and sales revenues for the chemicals.  The last blog in this series will compare price, production, and sales data for all the chemicals. 

Uses.  Uses of phosphorus include:

Ø  To produce phosphoric acid, from which fertilizers, animal supplements, and food additives are made (90 to 95% of phosphorus use);  and

Ø  As elemental phosphorus, in such uses as making organophosphorus compounds (especially pesticides), in metallurgy, and for pyrotechnic applications (e.g., in matches, fireworks, and incendiary devices) (5 to 10% of phosphorus use).

Phosphorus is highly reactive and not found in elemental form in nature, but in combination with other elements as phosphorous rock. 

Prices.  An average 2019 global phosphorus price is estimated to be $85 per metric ton (mt).       

Production.  Phosphorus rock, the source of all phosphorus, is surface-mined.

From the internet, estimated 2019 global production of phosphorus is 240 million mt.  Using 240 million mt and an average per mt price of $85 (see Prices above) gives revenues generated by phosphorus in 2019 of $20.4 billion (240 million mt times $85 per mt).

In an earlier blog on the uses, prices, and production of phosphoric acid (click here to read that blog), the 2019 estimated revenues generated by phosphorus acid is $35 billion.  Since all phosphoric acid is made from phosphorus, this suggests that the gross profit margin % for phosphoric acid sales is in the range of 45 to 48%.  {Gross profit margin % = gross profit (sales less cost of sales) divided by sales} (Based only on the cost of phosphorus without including other cost of sales, such as sulfuric acid use and reducing the phosphorus sales amounts by elemental phosphorus sales amounts).   This good gross profit margin percentage is an indication of the value added by chemical processing (converting phosphate rock into phosphoric acid by using sulfuric acid).