China's War on Smog Unleashes Collateral Damage on World's Farms
- Urea prices in Shandong rise to highest level in 4 years
- Chinese exports of the fertilizer seen dropping by about 50%
The Price of Cleaner Air in China
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Farmers are the latest victims of China’s desire for cleaner air.
Officials have forced natural gas-powered fertilizer plants to shut in areas like Sichuan and Yunnan to conserve the fuel for home-heating in the north, where demand is outpacing supply. That’s boosting prices of nitrogen-rich urea, which is spread on fields to boost soil productivity, after output was already cut by pollution restrictions on coal-fired facilities.