SASKATOON – Fertilizer manufacturers might not like the recent sharp drop in prices, but it’s good news for some farmers.
“I haven’t heard any complaints,” said Paul Vasseur from the Alberta Farmer’s Advocate.
Vasseur said with harvest winding down it is too early to tell whether farmers will buy fertilizer to store over the winter. But he said those with fall banding operations will be happy to get the fertilizer they need at lower prices.
Phosphorus and urea have dropped by $50 to $70 per tonne. Other fertilizers have fared about the same.
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Les Jacobson said not all farmers can afford to buy fertilizer in the fall and will have to pay when higher prices return next spring. He said he doesn’t expect prices to return to the lows farmers saw in the late 1980s because prices today are dependent on world demand.
“We’ve never really had to deal with this before,” said Jacobson. He expects some farmers to grow crops that don’t need as much fertilizer in order to cut costs.
Recently, high demand from the United States and China depleted Canadian fertilizer stockpiles, driving up prices. As these countries move into fall, the world fertilizer market levels out and prices drop.
Natural fluctuation
Saskatchewan Wheat Pool’s fertilizer marketing supervisor agrees the prices are part of the industry’s natural cycle.
Kevin Wagner said fertilizer companies should expect the highest prices in spring and should not be worried by current prices.
Roger Larson of the Canadian Fertilizer Institute said he hopes the strong market that brought high prices in April will be there again next spring.
The fertilizer sold then is being produced now, he said. The cost of storing the fertilizer all winter and higher shipping costs at that time of year contribute to higher prices. He said some fertilizer manufacturers will sell cheaper in the fall to avoid financing through the winter.
