Fertilizer deliveries decline in 2024 amid smaller harvest

ANDA attributed the decrease in deliveries between 2023 and 2024 to a “smaller grain harvest” caused by adverse weather in Brazil’s South and Central-West regions. Additionally, falling grain prices left producers with less capital in the last crop cycle.

Many agricultural supply retailers scaled back investments, closed stores, and reduced product offerings due to financial strain. The most notable case was Agrogalaxy, which filed for bankruptcy protection. Logistics issues also disrupted fertilizer distribution.

ANDA also flagged a discrepancy of 3.9 million tonnes of fertilizers that, based on supply and demand calculations, should have been in industry inventories as of December 31 but were unaccounted for. The association noted that such differences are common, but the 2024 gap was “significantly larger than in previous years.”

These unreported volumes could be either delivered products or inventory not formally recorded by companies. ANDA stated that it is still unclear whether the wider discrepancy in 2024 was an isolated occurrence or the beginning of a trend.

Imports of intermediate fertilizers rose 4.8% in 2024 to 41.34 million tonnes, while domestic production of these fertilizers increased 3.8% to 7.22 million tonnes.

The chart below exhibits the volume of fertilizers imported through Brazil’s Port of Parangua – the country’s busiest for this type of cargo – between January 2021 and January 2025. The data comes from DataLiner.

Fertilizer Imports | Paranaguá Port | Jan 2021 – Jan 2025 | WTMT