Fertilizer Surges Most in Decade Amid Import Probe
- Supply shock fuels 29% jump in U.S. phosphate in third quarter
- Value of U.S. phosphate imports slid 57% through June and July
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Phosphate fertilizer prices in the U.S. corn belt had their biggest quarter in a decade as buyers cope with a supply shock caused by potential import duties against Morocco and Russia.
Midwest prices for diammonium phosphate, or DAP, jumped 29% in the third quarter, the most since 2010, according to a Green Markets index. Prices for a lower concentration phosphate fertilizer also surged the most in a decade, by 34%. The two chemicals make up the primary component for many phosphate-based fertilizers used by American crop farmers.