Fertilizer consumption in New Zealand
New Zealand: Fertilizer consumption was 52,291 tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising
Fertilizer consumption in New Zealand, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 52,291 tonnes for fertilizer consumption in 2023.
That represents a change of down 18.2% on the previous year and down 6.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, fertilizer consumption in New Zealand peaked at 70,503 tonnes in 2018 and was at its lowest, 15,708 tonnes, in 1962.
That places New Zealand 100th out of 200 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 21,890 tonnes | 15,708 tonnes | 26,435 tonnes | 9 |
| 1970s | 32,575 tonnes | 26,796 tonnes | 39,767 tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 29,273 tonnes | 19,853 tonnes | 39,056 tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 39,474 tonnes | 22,123 tonnes | 48,479 tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 59,711 tonnes | 47,398 tonnes | 69,008 tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 62,374 tonnes | 51,944 tonnes | 70,503 tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 64,000 tonnes | 52,291 tonnes | 70,490 tonnes | 4 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More agriculture & rural data for New Zealand
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 10.28 billion current US$ (2023)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 4.0% (2023)
- Rural population 852,066 (2025)
- Rural population growth 0.3% (2025)
- Rural population 16.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.8% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 9.3% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 4.0% (2023)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 4.0% (2023)
- Land under cereal production 121,170 hectares (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is fertilizer consumption in New Zealand?
- Fertilizer consumption in New Zealand was 52,291 tonnes in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest fertilizer consumption recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 70,503 tonnes in 2018.
- What is the lowest fertilizer consumption recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 15,708 tonnes in 1962.
- How does New Zealand rank for fertilizer consumption?
- New Zealand ranks 100th out of 200 countries with data for 2023.
- Is fertilizer consumption rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Fertilizer consumption. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Agricultural use from all fertilizer products (including nitrogenous, potash, and phosphate fertilizers).