THE CONTRIBUTION OF FERTILIZERS TO AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION IN AUSTRALIA

The paper provides estimates of Australian N, P and K fertilizer use by the Australian farm sector in terms of volume and value. The estimates show the increasing use of fertilizer over time as well as some information on the proportions used by, and importance of fertilizer in the cost structure of, different agricultural sectors. Some factors driving past trends and those likely to affect future fertilizer use in Australia are identified. The second part of the paper identifies how fertilizer has enhanced agricultural production and provides an estimate of the value that fertilizer has contributed. The difficulties in estimating this contribution are explored and areas identified where the value of fertilizer can be enhanced in the future. Introduction and Background The objective of this paper is to assess the contribution of the value of fertilizer to Australian agricultural production. Agricultural production is defined as including livestock production, broadacre cropping, and horticulture