An important part of profitable farming is controlling input costs. A big part of controlling those costs involves figuring out when to buy. In most cases and if storage is available, pre-buying can be a very effective way to manage your input costs.
Fertilizer is one of those inputs that can be pre-bought to great effect. It is a product that is very much in demand at certain times of the year and subject to the influences of supply and demand at those times. The trouble with pre-buying fertilizer comes not just with watching the price during peak and low demand seasons, but also with seizing opportunities provided with ample stocks. Part of the fertilizer production process involves importing things like nitrogen from far off places that can take upwards of 50 days to deliver. That means that suppliers have to predict well in advance, what demand for their product will be. Add to that, potential disruptions in supply and other factors that can’t be predicted and you can see prices swing up or down at any given time. Farmers have to watch for those opportunities.
Ken Nyiri is Principal Consultant of Fertilizers with CRU group. He watches the market very closely. I talked to him about what’s going on in the market and when those buying opportunities may come up.
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