Fertiliser price cuts come with warning

The country's two largest fertiliser co-operatives yesterday dropped fertiliser prices because of falls in the value of international raw materials. But both Ravensdown and Ballance warned the price of phosphate rock remained volatile, and while not expecting a repeat of last year's rapid price increases, had told shareholders it was hard to predict trends. Ballance Agri-Nutrients has lowered the price of its staple superten product by $78 a tonne, to $310, while Ravensdown's comparable superphosphate product has been reduced $81 a tonne, to $311 reports The ODT. "Farmers should make the most of the window of opportunity created by lower international phosphate rock prices, as we are unsure how long it will last," Ballance chief executive Larry Bilodeau said. He said the international fertiliser market was showing similar behaviour to last year when prices rose sharply, but while Mr Bilodeau did not expect a repeat of those dramatic increases, the long-term view was that prices would continue to firm. The reality is that phosphate rock still costs double what it did little more than three years ago," he said. Ravensdown chairman Bill McLeod agreed, saying there did not appear to be scope for further price decreases. "These prices have dropped but it doesn't look as if there is much more down side," he said. Lower prices would allow farmers to encourage early summer pasture growth and help overall farm production. Last year, superphosphate hit $560 a tonne, nearly $300 a tonne higher than December 2007.