The Price of Fertilizer is up and farmers can afford it according to news emerging from last week’s International Fertilizer Conference in Montreal, Canada, suggesting higher fertilizer prices may soon be hitting New Zealand farmers.

Ravensdown board chairman Bill McLeod attended the annual Fertilizer Industry Association Conference and says the industry view is that farmers can afford to be paying more.

“Well I guess it’s a suppliers market and the conditions are quite bullish. They’re talking about increases across the board, right from limestone to phosphate rock to potash and everything in between.

“And it’s based on the belief that farmers, the end users can afford to pay - they’re seeing the increases in the food commodities and to a certain extent that’s arguable.”

Mr McLeod says it is difficult to estimate when higher fertilizer prices are likely to hit Kiwi farmers as there are many factors, such as our reserves, exchange rates and the long-shipping time delays, that all come into play.

He also says there are changes afoot in the way the big fertilizer companies are operating – with a trend towards vertical integration.

“We’re seeing I think some of the large companies, the big players in the market, moving down more quickly into vertical integration.

“Where they’re controlling from, if you like, coming out of the ground right through the chain to onto the farm or certainly to the merchant level, and there’s quite a push to that.

“That will be of some concern to some of the smaller players in the market and I’m talking about merchants and people in between.”