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Why are fertilizer prices rising? Could it be that fertilizer is the same stuff as gunpowder?
by lil_dispaches 4y ago
Why are fertilizer prices rising? Could it be that fertilizer is the same stuff as gunpowder?
- nyokodo 4y ago> Why are fertilizer prices rising? Supply chain issues, logistics problems, and high demand lead to rising prices which lead the largest exporter of phosphate fertilizer, China, to halt exports to protect domestic supply. Russia is the biggest exporter of potassium fertilizer.
- butlerm 4y agoFertilizer prices are rising in part because ammonia production is a rather energy intensive process and the price of natural gas used to produce ammonia is way up due to war time shortages. Ammonia, of course, is the primary source material for nitrogen based fertilizers.
- wcoenen 4y agoBecause of high natural gas prices. The production of fertilizers such as ammonium nitrate and urea require ammonia. Ammonia is synthesized on large scales with the Haber-Bosch process. This process requires hydrogen, which is obtained by steam reforming of methane in natural gas. When natural gas prices exploded in Europe, many fertilizer factories had to stop production: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-15/soaring-european-gas-prices-force-fertilizer-plants-to-shutter https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-15/soaring-e...
- blingscramble 4y agoI would suggest that fertilizer prices are higher due to cost increases to manufacture them but also because grain prices are higher. There seems to be a relationship between the 2 which is independent of actual costs to manufacture the inputs. As grain prices increase input costs increase, likewise with the inverse, grain prices decrease input prices decrease. Supply and demand for sure but there seems to be market forces outside of simply supply vs demand.