Fertilizer is a Strategic Commodity
To feed a population that grows by 80 million people each year, without setting aside more land for crop production requires fertilizer inputs, especially since every nutrient that is found in the soil is the building block for the nutritious food on your plate. This means that every nation around the world is beginning to realize that fertilizer must be an integral part of its food security strategy. The changes in food supply and demand as world population continues to grow are an important reminder that we cannot overlook fertilizer’s essential role in world food production.
Specifically, each bushel of corn, wheat and soybeans needs the nutrients provided by commercial fertilizers. These nutrients are also necessary for meat production. Production of a pound of beef requires 7 pounds of feed and every pound of pork produced requires 4 pounds of feed.
Unfortunately, the recent food crisis has led some governments to engage in trade distorting practices that have exacerbated the current food crisis. Government bans on exports of rice from China, India, Cambodia and Egypt are fueling food riots and disrupting global food trade patterns. Additionally, some nations have enacted trade distorting measures and policies that designed specifically to keep fertilizer in the country for domestic use and create additional challenges to the world’s food production system.
Specifically, the Chinese government this year raised its existing export tariffs on fertilizer in an effort to discourage fertilizer products from being exported for use in other countries. China is the world’s largest consumer of fertilizers, representing nearly 30 percent of world demand. In addition, China was the largest exporter of urea in 2007 and the second largest exporter of ammonium phosphates. In confining fertilizer products at home within an already tight market, the government is giving a clear indication of its desire to sustain the current domestic production of abundant food supplies.
This is of significant importance considering for example that the United States imported nearly a million tons of urea from China during the period from November 2007 to February 2008.
The fertilizer industry is partnering with stakeholders to help farmers overcome local social and economic challenges and implement science-based best management practices. Unencumbered by artificial trade barriers, it will be possible for the world’s farmers to step up to today’s most critical challenge and produce an abundant supply of food for the world primarily through the environmentally sensitive use of commercial fertilizers.
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