This paper is the result of mineral exploration engineering.

Objective In recent years, the complex and changeable international situation has led to greater risks to the stability of the supply chain of potash resources, further boosting the global food crisis. Understanding the characteristics and market development trend of global potash resources is helpful to provide basic understanding for the sustainable development of the global potash salt industry, and is of great significance for ensuring the stable supply of potash resources in China.

Methods This paper summarizes the metallogenic types, temporal and spatial distribution and production technology of global potash resources, analyzes the supply-demand structure and price trend of global potash resources, and puts forward suggestions on ensuring the supply security of potash resources in China.

Results The global potash resources are rich and the distribution is very uneven, which leads to an oligopolistic pattern in the production side, and the demand side is concentrated in China, Brazil, the United States, India and other populous agricultural countries, with a serious mismatch between supply and demand, mainly relying on trade adjustment. For more than a decade, the global potash resources have been in a situation of oversupply, forming four pricing centers with China, India, Brazil and Southeast Asia as the main consumers.

Conclusions At present, with the attention of countries around the world to food security and the intensification of the "uncertainty" in the international situation, the steady rise in demand for potash resources, the limited growth of the supply side and the increase in production costs will further promote the rise of potash prices in the future. As a big agricultural country with serious potassium shortage, China should further increase domestic investment in potash exploration, strengthen research on mineral processing technology, accelerate international cooperation on potash, and ensure the stable supply of domestic potash resources.