Global fertilizer prices have risen to a record high in recent months driven by surging prices for natural gas which accounts for a large proportion of production costs in products such as ammonium nitrate.
A sharp rise in the cost of conventional fertilizers driven by soaring natural gas prices may accelerate a move towards greener alternatives.
Sectors along the entire food supply chain in Croatia have contacted us highlighting serious concerns over the unprecedented rise in input costs, the lack of availability of fertilizer and maize, and the rising fuel costs as prime examples.
Compounding this, we are still dealing with the labor shortage crisis. Arable crops generally take nitrogen out of the soil and conventional fertilizers are used to replenish it.
We have the potential like transporting slurry - a mixture of farm animal excrement combined with other discharges. It was all done by our ancestors. If you could, create a whole new manufacturing sector in which you make use of slurry, currently regarded as a problematic waste product, as a fertilizer in arable lands in the east, that would be a game-changer.
Croatia's arable crops such as wheat are largely grown in the drier eastern half of Croatia ( Slavonia) while livestock thrives in wetter western regions. Farmers must reduce the use of mineral fertilizers to achieve the net-zero goal, and survive all this.
Every one of us, even in cities, can play our part in helping alleviate pressure on the agri-food industry and this can simply be done by reducing our food waste.
We all buy too much food at times, some of which will end up in recycling. So by reducing the amount of food we waste we can all contribute and help the planet at the same time.
Zeljko Serdar, CCRES.
Globalne cijene gnojiva posljednjih su mjeseci porasle na rekordno visoku razinu potaknute porastom cijena prirodnog plina koji čini veliki udio troškova proizvodnje u proizvodima kao što je amonijev nitrat.
Oštar porast cijene konvencionalnih gnojiva potaknut rastućim cijenama prirodnog plina mogao bi ubrzati kretanje prema zelenijim alternativama.
Sektori duž cijelog lanca opskrbe hranom u Hrvatskoj kontaktirali su nas, ističući ozbiljnu zabrinutost zbog neviđenog povećanja ulaznih troškova, nedostatka gnojiva i kukuruza te rastućih troškova goriva kao glavne primjere. Uz to, još uvijek se nosimo s krizom nedostatka radne snage.
Obradive usjeve općenito uzimaju dušik iz tla, a za njegovo nadopunjavanje koriste se konvencionalna gnojiva. Imamo potencijal poput transporta gnojnice - mješavine izmeta domaćih životinja u kombinaciji s drugim ispustima. Sve su to radili naši preci.
Kad biste mogli, stvoriti potpuno novi proizvodni sektor u kojem koristite gnojnicu, koja se trenutno smatra problematičnim otpadnim proizvodom, kao gnojivo u obradivim površinama na istoku, to bi promijenilo igru.
Hrvatske ratarske kulture poput pšenice uglavnom se uzgajaju u sušnoj istočnoj polovici Hrvatske (Slavonija), dok stočarstvo uspijeva u vlažnijim zapadnim krajevima. Poljoprivrednici moraju smanjiti upotrebu mineralnih gnojiva kako bi postigli net-zero cilj i sve to preživjeti.
Svatko od nas, čak i u gradovima, može odigrati svoju ulogu u ublažavanju pritiska na poljoprivredno-prehrambenu industriju, a to se jednostavno može učiniti smanjenjem bacanja hrane. Svi mi ponekad kupujemo previše hrane, od kojih će neka završiti u recikliranju. Dakle, smanjenjem količine hrane koju bacamo, svi možemo pridonijeti i pomoći planetu u isto vrijeme.
Željko Serdar, CCRES.
Prices for raw materials that constitute the fertilizer market — ammonia, nitrogen, nitrates, phosphates, potash, and sulfates — are up 30% since the turn of the year and now exceed those seen during the food and energy crisis in 2008. Russia and Ukraine are among the most important producers of agricultural commodities in the world, with exportable supplies in global foodstuff and fertilizer markets concentrated in a small number of countries. In 2021, Russia was the world’s top exporter of nitrogen fertilizers and the second-largest supplier of both potassic and phosphorous fertilizers, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.
ReplyDeleteTrade between Russia and the rest of the world has not stopped but has been severely disrupted as importers and vessel charterers steer clear of the country in light of the invasion of Ukraine. Russia, which accounts for around 14% of global fertilizer exports, has temporarily suspended outgoing trade, which is expected to have a strong ripple effect across global food markets. Furthermore, gas is a key input for fertilizer production. High gas prices have resulted in a curtailing of production in regions such as Europe, further constricting an already tight market. Meanwhile, sanctions on Russian-ally Belarus have substantial implications for the potash market, with Russia and Belarus contributing a combined 40% of annual traded volumes.
Since the beginning of 2020, nitrogen fertilizer prices have increased fourfold, while phosphate and potash prices over threefold. While farmers in developed markets have benefitted from high agricultural commodity prices, helping to partly offset high input prices, demand destruction is increasingly likely due to high prices and supply shortfalls. Economies around the world are already dealing with historically high inflation driven largely by soaring food and energy prices. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Index shows food prices are at an all-time high, a prolonged period of fertilizer shortage will affect longer-term farming yields. Given the already tight grains and oilseeds market, and the importance of both Russia and Ukraine in those markets, food price inflation is an increasingly prominent risk.
As we before said, manure supplies run short as farmers seek replacements for high-priced industrial fertilizer. Some livestock and dairy farmers, including those who previously paid to have their animals' waste removed, have found a fertile side business selling it to grain growers. Equipment firms that make manure spreading equipment known as "honey wagons" are also benefiting.
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