Fertilizer prices remain higher despite agriculture being past the high-demand spring season, according to Josh Linville, Vice President of Fertilizer with StoneX. He says that multiple global factors are the reason prices have stayed high.
Lower European production is one reason as skyrocketing natural gas prices have cut EU production by 25 percent. Brazil is another reason as high costs have led to a decrease in many of the country’s production plants.
China’s restriction on fertilizer exports means the government figured out they can make sure there’s enough for their own people and reduce the domestic price. Restrictions are also coming out of Egypt due to heat and people trying to cool their homes as a result, so natural gas supplies are getting tight.
In addition to an export shortage from other countries, the U.S. has also restricted imports from three major countries that supply the majority of the world’s fertilizer supplies.
“We have import restrictions on Morocco, Russia and China – that’s a huge part of the marketplace,” says Linville. “We’re low [in supplies] and we can’t really import anything.”
Source: NAFB News Service