Phosphoric Acid (Merchant Grade)

Merchant-grade 52–54% P₂O₅ in chemical tankers and ISO tanks

Merchant-grade phosphoric acid is the intermediate between phosphate rock and every ammonium phosphate fertilizer, and it is bought on P₂O₅ content — 52–54% for the standard MGA contract, some plants shipping 50% or 56% — with the impurity profile deciding whether a given DAP plant can run it. Sulphate as SO₄ at 2–4% maximum tells the buyer how much unreacted sulphuric acid he is paying to ship; fluorine at 1–2% maximum matters for corrosion and for scrubber load; iron and aluminium oxides and magnesium oxide, at roughly 1–2% combined, govern sludge, filtration and the water-solubility of the finished fertilizer; solids at 1–2% maximum settle in tanks and pipelines; specific gravity at about 1.65–1.70 at 20°C is the check that the P₂O₅ figure is honest. Purified (technical) and food-grade acid at 75–85% H₃PO₄ are a different product from a different process, with heavy metals, arsenic and colour capped, and they sell into detergents, metal treatment and beverages at several times the MGA price; they are listed here as grades so that a buyer states which one he means.

Buy MGA when you run a DAP, MAP, TSP, NPK or feed-phosphate plant on imported acid rather than on rock, which is the model of most Indian and several European and Latin American producers. Morocco declared 4.48 million MT of HS 2809.20 exports in 2025, with Pakistan taking 34% and India 32% between them, then Spain, Türkiye, Belgium and the Netherlands, at unit values of USD 764–800 per MT into the Asian buyers (2025 export declarations); Jordan, Tunisia and China are the other exporters we work, and excluded origins are not offered. The acid moves in stainless-steel or rubber-lined chemical-tanker parcels of 5,000–35,000 MT, and in 20-foot ISO tanks for smaller lots — LaycanDesk, our chartering desk, works the chemical tankers so that acid and freight can be quoted as one delivered number. CBIL brokers MGA and purified acid against independent certification of P₂O₅, SO₄, F, Fe₂O₃ + Al₂O₃, MgO, solids and specific gravity at load, on FOB, CFR and CIF terms.

Need the ship as well? Our chartering desk prices bagged fertilizer freight on LaycanDesk.

Excluded origins are not offered, including product re-exported, blended or re-processed through a third country. Every lot moves with a certificate of origin naming the producing plant, mine or grower country, and nothing is quoted before the seller and loading point are known.