Fertiliser sales have slowed considerably over recent weeks, according to the IFA’s latest fertiliser price update.
It says good grass growth and a carryover of fodder coupled with low commodity prices has seen farmers reign in their spend on fertiliser this year.
Overall fertiliser volumes for the season are expected to be down somewhere between 5% to 7% compared to the previous year where sales for the 12-month period were just shy of 1.4mt, according to the IFA.
Prices
On the price front purchasing groups and volume buyers have been well rewarded this season achieving significant discounts on officially quoted prices.
However, the IFA says the price gap between international wholesale and farm gate retail fertiliser prices has widened significantly in recent weeks. The best quotes for granulated CAN are around the €210/t price mark.
The IFA also says fertiliser suppliers have upped the price of fertiliser in the North to prevent leakage across the border as sterling continues to devalue against the euro.
The considerable fall in German bulk wholesale CAN prices of €145/t has not been reflected in recent farm gate prices.
