The latest sanctions imposed on Russia and Belarus have sent global prices for fertilizer soaring to an all-time high. The two countries are major exporters of potash, critical for the global agriculture industry, which is already reeling from pandemic-related disruptions.
Last week, fertilizer prices surged nearly 10% versus the previous week, according to Green Markets North America Fertilizer Price Index, the highest price point ever recorded. The index shows current prices are 40% higher than a month ago, before Russia’s military operation in Ukraine began.
According to CRU, a UK-based commodity consultancy, prices for raw materials that make up the crop nutrient commodity market, such as ammonia, nitrogen, potash, urea, phosphates, sulphates and nitrates, saw a 30% surge since the beginning of the year, topping the levels reached during the 2008 financial crisis.
Russia and Belarus are major exporters of several critical fertilizing compounds, including urea and potash.