Fertiliser costs may follow grain price up
IFA has reported recent price rises for CAN of as much as €30 per tonne, and advised farmers to seek out stocks available from some merchants for €233 to €238 per tonne.
The recent price increase could see new season opening prices of about €250 to €255, according to IFA.
In Britain, fertiliser purchase books closing for August was reported, attributed to traders hedging their bets on autumn prices. However, there could be better price news ahead for farmers worldwide, if BHP Billiton’s $39bn bid to buy PotashCorp succeeds, and a planned Russian fertiliser manufacturer merger goes ahead.
For decades, fertiliser companies have exported their potash and phosphate through three marketing organisations, effectively legal cartels.
BHP Billiton has signalled it would seek to break the cartels, if it takes over PotashCorp.
The ripple effect in the industry would force all fertiliser groups to compete on prices for the first time since 1972.
