Community & Business
28 January, 2022
Fertilisers drive farmers’ costs up
FARMERS and backyard growers are paying nearly double for fertiliser as Covid- crippled supply chains fail to keep up with demand.
The cost of some fertilisers has risen from $400-$550 a tonne a year ago to more than $1400 a tonne now.
TGT Rural Business Development Manager Brian Rowling said prices for fertilisers started climbing around a year ago and have continued to rise.
“The cost of granulated fertiliser started climbing in July last year,” he said.
“The worldwide demand for fertiliser was very high due to increased plantings from favourable seasons, and this collided with some major fertiliser manufacture facilities having to scale down production or even close (due to Covid).
“On average the cost of granulated fertiliser sat at around $8.50 per kg – now it is around $14.5 per kg with urea and DAP topping at $17 per kg.”
Fertiliser prices haven’t been the only thorn in farmers’ sides as many, if not all, costs associated with running a farm have increased, from labour to imports and exports.
“Generally, all costs have risen on a farm and fertilisers are right up the top, there are a lot of extra costs that farmers are bearing,” FNQ Growers chair Joe Moro said.
“Freight costs have gone up, especially bringing stuff in and out of Australia by sea or by air. There has been a shortage of flights. “
There is also a huge transport cost associated, a lot of the modern vehicles today use the additive which is made from urea – that has also gone up through the roof as well.”
On top of the already increasing prices and high demand for fertilisers, shipping costs from the northern hemisphere to Australia have increased to 10 times the normal amount. Before May last year the freight component for a shipping container was around $1,700 US, but this has now gone to a high of $17,000 US.
And according to experts, there doesn’t seem to be an immediate end in sight for the current supply issue, with the sea freight situation and supply and demand complications present around the world.
