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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Saturday, May 18, 2024
The fertilizer industry and a raft of farm groups are backing legislation that would add phosphate and potash to the list of minerals considered “critical” to the national security of the United States, arguing that too much of the world’s reserves of the vital crop inputs is located outside the country and vulnerable to supply shocks.
Brazil, a country that produces 42% of the world’s soybeans and 12% of its corn, is intrinsic to global food production, but all of that hinges on the South American nation’s ability to bring in billions of dollars’ worth of fertilizer from thousands of miles away. It’s a situation that Matt Simpson, CEO of the company Brazil Potash, said he wants to help change.
Strong global demand for agricultural commodities will put more pressure on limited phosphate and potash supplies and strengthen fertilizer prices in 2024, Mosaic CEO Joc O’Rourke said Wednesday.
Fertilizer prices may yet experience more volatility in Europe and South America, but the situation has mostly stabilized in the U.S., where fall applications will be relatively normal, says Ken Seitz, president and CEO of Nutrien, a major producer of potash, nitrogen and phosphate products.
In this opinion piece, Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., and Corey Rosenbusch of the Fertilizer Institute discuss the need to designate phosphate and potash as critical minerals.
Prices for fertilizer products have been dropping for months from highs last year after many producers cut down on applications, but major manufacturers such as Mosaic and Nutrien see farmer demand rising amid bullish fundamentals.
Prices for potassium chloride, the most common form of potash fertilizer, dipped in the third quarter, but global demand is expected to climb in the coming years amid supply shortages, which will keep prices strong as companies around the globe invest in new production capacity.
The United Nations, fresh off a scare from Russia’s threat to withdraw from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and 10 days from the extension deadline for the deal, is desperate to show Moscow that it’s serious about improving Russian fertilizer exports.
