fertilisers

FERTILISER prices have shot up to record levels as farmers around the world scramble to grow enough to alleviate the world food shortage.

The general manager of distributor AG Plus, Matt Henry, said its two main fertilisers, MAP or monammonium phosphate and DAP or diammonium phosphate, were worth between $420 and $450 a tonne two years ago.

"Then last year they got as high as $780 to $800 a tonne," he said.

The price is now above $1400 a tonne.

Mr Henry said the price of the raw materials, internationally, had risen steeply: "Australia isn't a large player in fertilisers globally, so we are really impacted by what happens offshore."

AG Plus, owned by GrainCorp, is focused on supplying graingrowers who are currently waiting for rain so they can plant a winter cereal crop and take advantage of the high grain prices.

Mr Henry said many graingrowers saw the prices rising and bought early. "But if any graingrowers haven't got a parcel of fertiliser to cover their demand now, they are going to be paying significantly more," he said.

NSW Farmers Association president Jock Laurie fears the price of fertilisers will rise further, forcing many farmers to re-evaluate their fertiliser use.

"People are doing a lot of (soil) tests to make sure they are only using what they need to use," he said. "They are also having a look to see whether there are alternatives ... to ease the pressure on fertiliser use."

He said fertiliser, chemicals and fuel, the three main costs for graingrowers, had all risen substantially in the past 12months.

The executive manager of the Fertiliser Industry Federation of Australia, Nick Drew, said prices had risen because the Chinese Government has imposed a 100per cent duty on exports of the most common fertilisers, urea and MAP and DAP.

He said Australia imported only a small amount of fertiliser from China, but was still affected by the duty "because we are part of global supply and demand". The import effectively doubles the price, "basically ensuring they (China) don't export product, to ensure they have enough for local use."