China faces a fertilizer crisis as anti-Covid measures make deliveries difficult

Economic limitations imposed as part of China’s strict anti-Covid policy are disrupting the delivery of fertilizers to crucial agricultural zones in the country’s northeast, barely a month before spring planting, endangering this year’s maize and soybean yields.

Farmers typically receive fertilizers in early April before applying them to the fields later in the month for planting. However, China’s worst Covid outbreak since the pandemic began two years ago has triggered tight controls over the movement of people and goods, dramatically slowing deliveries.

Producers, dealers, analysts and fertilizer associations all commented that the rules requiring truck drivers to be tested for Covid every 24 hours, the need to obtain special passes to deliver goods, and factory shutdowns contribute to the supply shortage.

“The production of nitrogen-based fertilizers and their preparation for spring planting has been greatly affected,” the China Nitrogen Fertilizer Industry Association said this week.

The bottleneck is exacerbated by record fertilizer prices, driven by strong global demand, high energy costs, and sanctions on leading producers Russia and Belarus.

Despite Beijing’s efforts to lower prices, China’s wholesale fertilizer index (CFCI) remains 40% higher than a year ago.

All of these factors have discouraged dealers from building up inventories in recent months, catching them short in their busiest selling period.

Source: Money Times

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https://www.moneytimes.com.br/chineses-enfrentam-crise-de-fertilizantes-medidas-contra-covid-dificultam-entregas/

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