AMA: Fertilizer sales in Austria clearly declining
In the 2021 calendar year, 94,319 t of nitrogen in fertilizers were placed on the Austrian market. This means a decrease of 20% compared to the previous year. The increase was greatest in the period July to September 2021 with -32% compared to the previous year, while only a minus of 4% was recorded from October to December, although prices were highest in that period, the AIZ reported. Phosphorus was also placed on the market by 20% less in 2021, while there was no decrease in potassium. This is reported by Agrarmarkt Austria (AMA).
If one looks at the placing on the market of the individual fertilizers, there is a clear decline in calcium ammonium nitrate: In the 2021 calendar year, only 209,392 of these were sold, which is a quarter (-26%) less than in 2020. The reduction took place mainly from July to September ( -39%). From October to December 2021, a minus of 4% was calculated.
The amount of urea put on the market in Austria in 2021 will be 1% lower than in the previous year. According to the AMA, urea sales were doubled compared to the previous year, especially during the phase of high nitrogen fertilizer prices (October to December), in order to compensate for bottlenecks in the supply of nitrate of calcium ammonium.
The AMA experts attribute the significant increase in fertilizer sales primarily to the sharply increased prices. At EUR 606/t, the international prices for nitrate of calcium ammonium (FOB Ostseehäfen) are still close to their all-time high. On the Austrian spot market, the final consumer prices for nitrate of calcium ammonium remain high at 54 euros/100 kg. The price for urea is even expected to increase further to 95 euros/100 kg in December. At 87 euros/100 kg, diammonium phosphate also costs significantly more than in previous years.
As is well known, in addition to the sharp rise in fertilizer prices, the extremely high cost of feed and pesticides and the exploding energy prices are putting an enormous strain on farms.
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