China’s ban on fertilizer exports has global markets worried.
The country produces one-third of the world’s supply of phosphate, while the United States and Morocco supply another third.
It has driven prices in the U.S. up 10 percent in the last week alone.
In Argentina, China is one of four sources of phosphate imports. Brazilian farmers say that they are more worried about the availability of glyphosate, as phosphorous is a key ingredient in the herbicide.
Brazil’s supply of glyphosate is also strained by disruptions from Hurricane Ida. The storm damaged a large part of Bayer’s chemical facility on the Gulf Coast, not to mention the damages at ports that caused shipping congestion.
Bayer says that systems are slowly coming back online, but there will be implications for Brazil.
Prices for the herbicide have doubled as the South American supply dwindles.
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