Demand for fertilizers is seasonal and reflects the times when crops and pastures are fertilized. To manage this uneven demand, fertilizer companies, distributors and farmers use a mixture of storage capacity and careful planning of purchases.

Typically importers have storage close to the arrival port capable of holding more than a ship load of fertilizer (18,000 tonnes to 45,000 tonnes) although smaller importers may have storage for one or two ships holds of fertilizer (5,000 tonnes to 10,000 tonnes).

More than 85% of fertilizer is transported and sold as bulk product with less than 15% in bags of between 20Kg and 1 tonne.

Storage in regional and local depots can range from several thousand tonnes to under one hundred tonnes. The majority of liquid fertilizer is sold in bulk with some sold in containers ranging up to 1000L.