Also known as: DCP 18% · Feed grade dicalcium phosphate · Calcium hydrogen phosphate · DCP dihydrate · MDCP · Feed phosphate
The volume feed phosphate: 18% P / 21–24% Ca, granular or powder, used to close the digestible-phosphorus gap in poultry, swine, ruminant and aqua diets. Priced off phosphate rock, sulphuric acid and freight, and specified on P assay, fluorine and cadmium.
Short answer: Compare DCP offers on the same basis: guaranteed phosphorus and calcium, contaminant results against the destination's limits, physical form, packaging and delivered cost — all stated in one written specification.
Compare origins on the same delivered basis for your discharge port and shipment window with the landed-cost calculator, then request offers through a reviewed RFQ.
Schemes buyers often ask suppliers to document for this ingredient — not a statement that any supplier holds them. FeedMatch asks for the current certificate in the RFQ; check that its scope covers the product and activity in the scheme's own register (see GMP+ and FAMI-QS).
The traded grades and the parameters that actually decide acceptance. Always reconcile the guaranteed assay against your formulation matrix and the destination market's fluorine and heavy-metal maxima before comparing prices.
| Grade | Guaranteed analysis | Where it is used | Contractual limits to insist on | Relative cost per unit of available P |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DCP dihydrate (feed grade, granular) | P min 18%, Ca 21–24%, moisture max 4%, P solubility in 2% citric acid min 90% | Poultry, swine, ruminant and standard aqua diets — the volume workhorse | Fluorine ≤ 1,800–2,000 mg/kg, Cd ≤ 10 mg/kg, Pb ≤ 15 mg/kg, As ≤ 10 mg/kg, granulometry 0.5–2 mm | Baseline (index 100) |
| DCP anhydrous | P min 18–19%, Ca 23–26%, lower moisture, lower citric-acid solubility | Where storage humidity or pelleting temperature is a problem | Same limits plus explicit solubility guarantee — anhydrous can under-deliver available P | Similar per tonne, typically worse per unit of available P |
| MDCP (mono-dicalcium phosphate) | P min 21%, Ca 15–18%, high water-soluble P share | High-performance broiler, breeder and shrimp diets | Water-soluble P share, fluorine, cadmium, free acidity | 5–15% higher, usually justified in short-cycle diets |
| MCP (monocalcium phosphate) | P min 22.7%, Ca 15–17%, water-soluble P > 80% | Aqua, piglet and phytase-free high-performance diets | Water-soluble P, moisture, fluorine, granulometry and dust | 10–25% higher per tonne; often lowest cost per unit of digestible P |
| Defluorinated / DFP and rock-derived grades | P 18–21%, fluorine tightly controlled | Ruminant and long-cycle diets where fluorine accumulates | Fluorine certificate per lot, P:F ratio min 100:1 | Variable; specify, do not assume |
Compare offers on landed cost per unit of available (not total) phosphorus: divide CIF cost per tonne by the guaranteed P assay, then adjust for the relative bioavailability your nutritionist assigns to the grade. A granular MCP at a higher tonne price is often cheaper per unit of digestible P than a cheap powder DCP with weak citric-acid solubility.
These questions turn a broad market search into a comparable procurement brief. Values, doses, substitutions and performance expectations must be approved by the buyer's qualified nutrition, veterinary, feed-science, safety and regulatory advisers.
State the mineral source, guaranteed element content rather than compound weight alone, physical form, contaminant and heavy-metal limits, destination-market authorisation and the intended premix or complete-feed use.
Compare delivered cost per kilogram of the declared element, not price per kilogram of compound. Include source form, bioavailability evidence, contaminants, testing and the approved inclusion basis.
Request a current specification, technical and safety data, recent batch certificates of analysis, manufacturing and feed-safety certification, destination registration where required, allergen or GMO status where relevant, traceability details, shelf-life evidence and a clear procedure for non-conforming lots. Verify documents and claims before approval.
The quoted result can change with feedstock or active-material availability, production concentration, plant outages, energy and freight costs, packaging, order size, Incoterm, destination registration, testing requirements and delivery window. FeedMatch does not publish a live price; buyers should request a firm, time-bound quotation against one controlled specification.
Dicalcium Phosphate (DCP) is bought inside the additives category, where specification discipline — not price per kilogram — decides the real cost. Our feed additives procurement guide covers how to write a quotable specification, which certifications and registrations to demand (FAMI-QS, GMP+, EU Reg. 1831/2003), when a premix beats buying straights, and how to normalise offers to delivered cost per unit of active.
Confirm the current rule for the exact product, target species and destination market before contracting. Private assurance schemes may support supplier qualification but do not replace applicable law.
Heavy metals — lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury — accumulate in animal tissues and are regulated in feed materials, with mineral sources and marine ingredients carrying the highest inherent risk.
Purity covers everything that should not be in the cargo — foreign matter, other-grain admixture, hulls, soil, packaging debris and deliberate adulterants — and is verified by physical inspection plus targeted analysis.
Particle size distribution governs mixing homogeneity, pellet quality, digestive efficiency and segregation risk, and is specified as a geometric mean diameter with a distribution, not a single sieve figure.
Ash is the inorganic residue after complete combustion; it indicates total mineral content and, in protein meals, is a practical marker for bone, shell, sand or mineral adulteration.
Each parameter is explained in the specification library — what it measures, how it is tested and what to verify.
| Test | Why buyers run it |
|---|---|
| Assay of the declared element | Confirms the purchased mineral content, not just the salt identity |
| Heavy metals (Pb, Cd, As, Hg) by ICP-MS | Mineral sources are the primary heavy-metal entry route into feed |
| Fluorine, where phosphates are involved | Regulated and tightly limited in phosphate feed grades |
| Particle size distribution | Segregation control in premix and mash |
| Acid-insoluble ash / insolubles | Detects inert filler |
Generally 12–24 months when dry and sealed; caking risk rises sharply with humidity exposure.
Formulation stages, KPIs and the ingredient basket for poultry — broilers operations.
Formulation stages, KPIs and the ingredient basket for poultry — layers operations.
Formulation stages, KPIs and the ingredient basket for aquaculture operations.
Formulation stages, KPIs and the ingredient basket for dairy cattle operations.
Formulation stages, KPIs and the ingredient basket for swine operations.
Formulation stages, KPIs and the ingredient basket for beef cattle operations.
Certificates of analysis, sampling, inspection, origin, traceability and import documentation.
Step-by-step buying guides and printable verification checklists.
Least-cost, inclusion and landed-cost tools for procurement planning.
Technical articles, market context and regulatory background.
Educational reference maintained by FeedMatch Group. We do not rank, recommend or endorse manufacturers; values are indicative industry references and never replace testing of the delivered lot.
Before you tender, settle the phosphate source and the availability maths:
Purchase specification and commercial terms
Short answer: suppliers can only quote like-for-like when the specification and the commercial terms are written down. Use the two checklists below. Your nutritionist sets the nutrient values; this page does not suggest any limits, prices or tolerances.
| Product identity | Exact name, origin and process (e.g. solvent-extracted soybean meal), not a generic category. |
|---|---|
| Analytical specification | Parameters with limits and basis: protein, moisture, fat, fibre, ash or the key nutrient for that ingredient. |
| Contaminant limits | Mycotoxins, salmonella, heavy metals and residues under your local feed regulation. |
| Sampling and test method | Who samples, where (loading or arrival), how many samples, which laboratory and method. |
| Packaging and handling | Bulk, big bag or bags; storage and handling conditions in transit. |
| Documents per lot | Certificate of analysis, phytosanitary or health certificate and certificate of origin, as required. |
| Price basis | Price per tonne in one currency with an Incoterms® 2020 rule and named place (e.g. CIF named port). |
|---|---|
| Quantity and tolerance | Contract tonnage, delivery schedule and the agreed quantity tolerance. |
| Payment terms | Deposit, letter of credit or open account, and the documents that trigger payment. |
| Quality acceptance | Which analysis is final (loading or arrival), how a referee sample is resolved, and price adjustment or rejection rules. |
| Claims window | How many days after delivery a quality or quantity claim can be raised, and what evidence is needed. |
| Delivery and delay | Delivery window, who bears late-delivery costs and force majeure wording. |
| Validity | How long the offer stays valid and how price changes are handled for later deliveries. |
Compare offers on cost per kg of output, not price per tonne alone: a cheaper ingredient that worsens feed conversion can cost more per kg produced.
Calculators and checklists are free. Plant and equipment projects start from USD 250,000; ingredient and feed supply has no such minimum. Our team reviews each request before contacting suppliers. Incoterms® is a trademark of the International Chamber of Commerce.
Pick the lane that matches where you are in the purchase — each link goes to the exact tool or page for that step.
What exactly am I buying?
How much, and at what landed cost?
Is this supplier and lot acceptable?
Availability and the ability to trade depend on the applicable law and on the licences and approvals required, which differ by product and country. Each participant is responsible for the rules that apply to its own role: suppliers for the products they offer and supply, buyers for their own import permissions and checks. FeedMatch is not a manufacturer, importer, exporter, seller or regulatory approver; it facilitates sourcing and screens requests before any supplier is contacted. Regulation & responsibilities.
DCP is a fertiliser-complex derivative, so it tracks phosphate rock, sulphuric acid and ammonia rather than grain. The four levers that move a delivered price are: rock and sulphur cost at the producing complex; Chinese export policy and inspection quotas, which historically swing the world price by 20–40% within a quarter; ocean and inland freight, which can be a quarter of landed cost into Africa, Latin America and South-East Asia; and energy cost at the acidulation plant. Buy forward when rock and sulphur are soft, and always re-tender when a new origin becomes freight-competitive.
DCP 18% is the default for standard poultry, swine and ruminant feed and is usually cheapest per unit of total phosphorus. MDCP and MCP carry a higher share of water-soluble, highly available phosphorus and are worth the premium in broiler starter, breeder, piglet and shrimp diets where phosphorus availability limits performance. Run the comparison in your own matrix on cost per unit of digestible P, not on price per tonne.
Fluorine is the parameter that fails most often. EU Directive 2002/32/EC caps fluorine at 2,000 mg/kg in phosphates and constrains it in complete feeds by species; ruminants are the most sensitive because fluorine accumulates in bone. Contract fluorine ≤ 1,800 mg/kg with a P:F ratio of at least 100:1, cadmium ≤ 10 mg/kg, lead ≤ 15 mg/kg and arsenic ≤ 10 mg/kg, each evidenced by an ISO/IEC 17025 certificate per lot, and reserve the right to third-party sampling at load or discharge.
A standard phytase dose releases roughly 0.10–0.15% available phosphorus from the plant phytate already in the diet, which typically removes 30–50% of the inorganic phosphate inclusion; high-dose superdosing goes further. That makes phytase and DCP direct commercial substitutes: run the trade-off at current phosphate prices every quarter, because a rock-driven phosphate rally can pay for a phytase upgrade several times over.
Container shipments from Chinese, Vietnamese and MENA producers commonly run 5–9 weeks door to door, longer around Chinese New Year and during export-inspection tightening. Bulk vessel parcels suit 3,000 tonnes and above. Standard packaging is 25–50 kg PP bags with liner or 1,000–1,250 kg bulk bags; granular grades ship and store far better than powder in humid discharge ports. Most mills hold 4–8 weeks of cover and keep a second qualified origin approved.
No. FeedMatch Group is supplier-neutral and holds no producer mandate. We help you write the specification, verify certification and registration status, run the RFQ across qualified producers in several origins, normalise every offer to delivered cost per unit of available phosphorus, arrange third-party sampling and assay at load or discharge, and can finance the shipment. The service is free for buyers.
For commercial farm feed buyers
FeedMatch helps farm buyers compare feed suppliers, nutrition providers, additives suppliers and related solutions. FeedMatch is an intermediary and does not manufacture feed or provide financing directly.
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Suppliers are contacted only after authorized human review. Plant and equipment projects generally from USD 250,000; feed and ingredient supply has no such minimum.
How it works| Dicalcium Phosphate (DCP) | Evidence to request |
|---|---|
| Product-specific specification | DCP identity, phosphorus and calcium basis; hydration, fluorine and heavy metals; validated availability evidence. |
Turn the product checks into a written specification approved by your technical team. Separate guaranteed contractual values from typical information; state units, moisture basis, analytical methods and tolerances. Request a dated, lot-linked certificate of analysis and representative sampling plan. Agree who releases the lot, what happens after an out-of-spec result, and how retained samples and claims are handled. A generic technical sheet is not evidence for the shipment you receive.
Use the same grade, quantity, named delivery place, Incoterm, currency and quote date. Separate product, freight, insurance, duties, testing, handling and payment costs; never count included freight twice or unknown charges as zero. Concentrates require an agreed active-content or activity basis. Moisture correction and nutritional equivalence must use measured analysis and qualified approval, not a kilogram-for-kilogram swap. Ask for quote validity and confirm inclusions before comparing totals.
State quantity and units per shipment, frequency, requested arrival window, packaging and unloading constraints. Record warehouse temperature/humidity needs, remaining shelf life at arrival, segregation and traceability requirements. Ask the team to obtain dated lead-time proposals and contingency terms; this is not a stock or supplier-availability claim. Product eligibility and import documents must be checked for the actual destination and animal species, not inferred from another market.
A lower ingredient invoice does not prove a lower cost of animal production. Use the FCR calculator with your own feed consumed, liveweight gain and complete-feed cost over the same period. Keep species, phase, feed basis and measurement method consistent. Do not attribute an FCR change to an additive without comparable evidence; the calculator evaluates inputs, not product efficacy. Any inclusion or reformulation decision belongs to your qualified nutritionist.
Buyer use is free. Ingredient and recurring feed supply are assessed by specification, viable volume/frequency, destination and logistics—not the plant/equipment capital minimum. FeedMatch reviews your request, contacts suitable suppliers and presents responses through the team; no direct buyer–supplier handoff and no guaranteed offers.
Send your specification, quantity and destination for human review; the US$250,000 minimum applies only to plant and equipment projects. FeedMatch reviews and organises your brief before contacting suitable suppliers, then presents responses through FeedMatch—not through direct buyer-to-supplier contact.
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