EU Phosphorus Import Index

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the EU has imported phosphorus products from Russia worth nearly €3.5 billion. Despite sanctions on Russian energy, trade in phosphorus and fertilisers has continued.

EU’s Phosphorus Index

EU’s import of phosphorus products from Russia since 24 February 2022

 

0

= almost 3.5 billion euros

 

Based on preliminary trade statistics. Last updated: 10 February 2026. Source

This is how the EU can become self sufficient in phosphorus

This underscores a strategic vulnerability: phosphorus is essential for life and indispensable for food production, and continued dependence on imports from Russia exposes Europe to geopolitical risk. Indeed Europe is almost entirely dependent on phosphorus imports from countries like Morocco and Russia. Strengthening domestic recovery and circular use of phosphorus is therefore a matter of food security and strategic autonomy.

Meanwhile, Ragn-Sells and its innovation company EasyMining have developed a world-leading technology that makes it possible to recover more than 90% of the phosphorus from incinerated sewage sludge. This clean, recycled phosphorus can replace mined raw materials and help close the loop for one of our most critical resources.

Explore the data behind Europe’s phosphorus challenge – and how we can work for a more secure, sustainable and prosperous future by recycling phosphorus.

Fact box: Method and sources

All data in the EU Phosphorus Index comes from trade statistics published by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) on its online fertiliser trade dashboard. Their data is based on Eurostat’s COMEXT database and Customs Surveillance statistics.

The EU Phosphorus Index covers imports to the EU-27 from Russia and the figures refer to import values in euros. The index includes the following product categories from the fertilizer trade dashboard:

  • Phosphatic fertilisers
  • Phosphates
  • Mixed Fertilisers, which includes phosphorus-based products such as NPK (nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium), DAP (diammonium phosphate) and MAP (monoammonium phosphate).

Data for the most recent months are preliminary and may be subject to revision.