Fertilizer In Flux: Strong food demand is driving fertilizer price inflation

摘要

ISSUES related to the global food supply and food inflation actually have been building for more than a decade. Sticker Shock Some have sought to place blame on biofuel production, skyrocketing oil prices, and commodity index funds. Others have triedto connect higher fertilizer costs to the rising price of food. While food and fertilizer are inextricably linked, the impact of higher nitrogen, phosphate, and potash (NPK) on consumer prices is minor - in the US, fertilizer costs represent about 2% ofthe total retail price of a loaf of bread; in China, it's approximately 4% of the price of bread.