Agriculture: Farmers concerned about fertilizer prices

Many farmers are starting the new year worried about the steep rise in fertilizer costs.

“If the prices remain at this level and there are delivery bottlenecks, there could be significant declines in yields in the 2022 harvest,” according to a market report by the farmers’ association, which is available to the German press agency. Recent tensions with Russia, the energy crisis in China and a steady global demand for fertilizers made such a scenario seem realistic.

In the case of nitrogen fertilizers, there have been price increases of up to 236 percent due to the considerable increases in the price of natural gas, which is used in production, according to the farmers’ association’s market report for 2021. At the same time, some European manufacturers have reduced production. The situation is still critical. The farmers’ association is therefore campaigning for a temporary suspension of anti-dumping tariffs in order to reduce the cost pressure on European farmers and to secure the grain supply in the coming year.

Özdemir calls for higher food prices

At the same time, Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) is calling for higher prices for food and agricultural products. “There must be no more junk prices for food, they are driving farms into ruin, preventing more animal welfare, promoting species extinction and polluting the climate. I want to change that, “he told the” Bild am Sonntag “. He wanted people in Germany to appreciate their food as much as their cars. “Sometimes I have the feeling that a good motor oil is more important to us than a good salad oil,” criticized the minister. Food is not likely to become a luxury good. “But the price has to express the ecological truth more strongly,” said Özdemir.

Higher costs for fertilizer and diesel also have an impact on the profit situation at many farms. “At first glance, the producer prices for grain and oilseeds suggest a positive mood,” explained farmers’ president Joachim Rukwied. “But this improved revenue situation is slowed down by the unprecedented explosion in the prices of operating materials for fertilizers and energy.”

In general, the situation, especially with pig farmers, is still “more than tense,” said Rukwied. Producer prices for slaughter pigs and piglets are “still ruinous” and have forced many farms to exit. According to the market report, the decline in the number of pigs, which has been seen for years, accelerated further. Figures from the November 2021 cattle census showed 23.6 million pigs, the lowest number in Germany for 25 years. If the corona situation improves again, the market should recover at increasing speed. Due to the sharp rise in feed costs, the way to an adequate price level is still very long.

Stricter requirements for finished products planned

For beef, the market developed positively in 2021, also in view of smaller stocks in Germany. According to the market report, producer prices are at a record level at the end of the year in line with the traditional high at Christmas time.

In addition to the end of “junk prices”, Minister of Agriculture Özdemir is aiming to expand the area of ​​organically cultivated fields by 2030 from currently almost 10 to 30 percent and wants to use the “buying power of the state” for this purpose: catering in public institutions should focus on more regional and organic Products are converted. “The state must be a role model.”

Özdemir is also planning stricter requirements for finished products so that people eat more healthily. “Germany’s diet is generally too unhealthy,” he said. Over 50 percent of adults are overweight. “The reason for this is too much sugar, fat and salt, especially in finished products.” Politicians have tried for too long to get the industry to make voluntary commitments to reduce these ingredients. “Not anymore. With me there will be binding reduction targets ”, Özdemir made clear.