January 26, 2010
Australia faces shortage of fertiliser supplies
Currently, grain producers in Australia are having problems ordering supplies of fertiliser.
Stocks of ammonium phosphate fertilisers have virtually run out at a time when growers are seeking to lock into relatively low prices in readiness for this year's sowing season.
Growers seeking supplies of fertiliserare reporting difficulties in getting price quotes. The NSW Farmers Association grains committee chairman, Mark Hoskinson, said growers were being told there was no fertiliser in Australia.
The last shipment to Australia was sold before it even arrived, Hoskinson said.
SQP Co-operative executive officer Michael Porter said the co-operative had managed to buy 2000 tonnes of fertiliser for its members, but the deliveries had tight conditions attached and these did not suit all farmers.
Porter said it was extremely difficult to get a price quoted due to "almost nil stocks".
He said farmers were considering their fertiliser purchases earlier than normal this year as they feared prices would increase in autumn.
A fertiliser industry source said fertiliser companies were unlikely to quote prices when it was unclear what it would cost to bring fertiliser into Australia. World fertiliser prices had bottomed and it was now a "feeding frenzy" for buyers internationally, he said.