The shortage of fertilisers, the critical situation on the market and ways to solve this problem caused by the war were discussed in the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine the other day by specialised associations and analysts under the chairmanship of First Deputy Minister Taras Vysotskyi.
He emphasised that today the topic of fertiliser shortage is one of the most relevant for the agricultural sector and Ukrainian farmers. Ukraine is one of the leading countries on the agricultural map, and the world price on the grain market and world food security depend on its production volumes. Accordingly, the liquidity of agrarians is a top topic for the Ministry of Agrarian Policy. Minister Mykola Solsky emphasises this at each of his international meetings and speeches, calling on international partners to help Ukrainian farmers carry out spring sowing.
'It is important for us to hold such meetings and consultations with the public, including specialised organisations and analysts. This allows us to make the correct and most effective decisions, which are formed taking into account the wishes of the manufacturers,' Taras Vysotsky notes.
Dmytro Hordeychuk, head of the Analytical Project 'Infoindustry', says that before the war, three factories were working on a permanent basis in Ukraine: 'Rivneazot', 'Severodonetske Obedenia Azot' and Cherkasy 'Azot'. Dniproazot also worked, but with some intervals. The volume of domestic production exceeded imports. It is about more than 70%. 'A total of 1.4 million tons of nitrogen fertilisers were imported in 2021, while the total production, according to the State Committee of Statistics, exceeded 5.2 million tons,' notes Dmytro Hordeychuk.
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However, according to him, with the beginning of the war, only two plants remained in operation – 'Rivneazot' and Cherkasy 'Azot'. Unfortunately, Severodonetsk Nitrogen Association was able to work for only one month. 'Of course, such changes significantly changed the statistics for the worse: as a result, only 1.13 million tons of nitrogen fertilisers were produced in 2022 and 4.3 million tons were imported,' says the head of the Infoindustry analytical project.
He added that until July 2022, Ukrainian farmers were still able to buy fertilisers at pre-war prices and it was not as expensive as in the EU. Prices in the same Poland for certain fertilisers were higher until the New Year. After July, the price of saltpeter began to rise rapidly. In fact, in three months, it increased from UAH 27,000/ton to UAH 37,000/ton, which created a critical situation for the Ukrainian farmer.
Classically, farmers use the ratio, when the cost of a ton of saltpeter should not cost more than 2.5 tons of wheat, as for urea, it is 3.0-3.5 tons of corn. In 2022, these figures were doubled, even tripled.
Today, it is difficult to calculate the exact expenses of a modern Ukrainian farmer, but if you take one hectare of corn, you need to spend approximately UAH 8-9 thousand on it. It's only about basic nitrogen, and you also need top-up, fuel for application, which has also become more expensive. Therefore, the final amount is usually 'unattractive' for the farmer.
'A lot depends on climatic conditions, because fertilisers work as complex nutrition and the main factor is weather conditions. But if the farmer applies less fertilisers by 30 percent or more, then the fall in the harvest can be twofold. Therefore, the support of international partners in this matter is very important for us,' Taras Vysotsky notes.
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| Image credit: Jonathan Stonehouse on flickr (CC BY 2.0) |
'It is important for us to hold such meetings and consultations with the public, including specialised organisations and analysts. This allows us to make the correct and most effective decisions, which are formed taking into account the wishes of the manufacturers,' Taras Vysotsky notes.
Dmytro Hordeychuk, head of the Analytical Project 'Infoindustry', says that before the war, three factories were working on a permanent basis in Ukraine: 'Rivneazot', 'Severodonetske Obedenia Azot' and Cherkasy 'Azot'. Dniproazot also worked, but with some intervals. The volume of domestic production exceeded imports. It is about more than 70%. 'A total of 1.4 million tons of nitrogen fertilisers were imported in 2021, while the total production, according to the State Committee of Statistics, exceeded 5.2 million tons,' notes Dmytro Hordeychuk.
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However, according to him, with the beginning of the war, only two plants remained in operation – 'Rivneazot' and Cherkasy 'Azot'. Unfortunately, Severodonetsk Nitrogen Association was able to work for only one month. 'Of course, such changes significantly changed the statistics for the worse: as a result, only 1.13 million tons of nitrogen fertilisers were produced in 2022 and 4.3 million tons were imported,' says the head of the Infoindustry analytical project.
He added that until July 2022, Ukrainian farmers were still able to buy fertilisers at pre-war prices and it was not as expensive as in the EU. Prices in the same Poland for certain fertilisers were higher until the New Year. After July, the price of saltpeter began to rise rapidly. In fact, in three months, it increased from UAH 27,000/ton to UAH 37,000/ton, which created a critical situation for the Ukrainian farmer.
Classically, farmers use the ratio, when the cost of a ton of saltpeter should not cost more than 2.5 tons of wheat, as for urea, it is 3.0-3.5 tons of corn. In 2022, these figures were doubled, even tripled.
Today, it is difficult to calculate the exact expenses of a modern Ukrainian farmer, but if you take one hectare of corn, you need to spend approximately UAH 8-9 thousand on it. It's only about basic nitrogen, and you also need top-up, fuel for application, which has also become more expensive. Therefore, the final amount is usually 'unattractive' for the farmer.
'A lot depends on climatic conditions, because fertilisers work as complex nutrition and the main factor is weather conditions. But if the farmer applies less fertilisers by 30 percent or more, then the fall in the harvest can be twofold. Therefore, the support of international partners in this matter is very important for us,' Taras Vysotsky notes.
The Global Miller
This blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine Milling and Grain
which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.
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