ARLINGTON, VA. — Already burdened with fertilizer prices that have doubled, in some instances, since the fall of 2020, farmers and fertilizer retailers are also dealing with delivery issues. To help ensure the expedited delivery of fertilizers to farmers, The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) President and CEO Corey Rosenbusch submitted testimony to the House Committee on Agriculture on the fertilizer market’s critical role in feeding the world’s growing population. 

Rosenbusch’s testimony, part of the House Ag Committee’s November 3 hearing on the immediate challenges to the nation’s food supply chain, included information on fertilizer’s global nature and encouragement to consider fertilizer supply chain challenges in a global context.

“Fertilizers are truly global commodities, as these materials are transported from the limited number of countries which produce them to the global market which requires them,” Rosenbusch explained, in a prepared statement. “Nearly 44 percent of all fertilizers produced globally are exported. Moving this material from production facilities to farms requires virtually every mode of transportation, and a carefully orchestrated system of logistics to serve farmers on a just-in-time basis.”

Prior to the current container ship backup at major U.S. ports of entry, February ice storms and Hurricane Ida disrupted production of some 60 percent of domestic ammonia production. In addition, COVID-related closures and deferred maintenance at some facilities helped slow ammonia production. 

International events, including U.S. sanctions on Belarus, contributed to a slowing in the production of potash, according to TFI. Additionally, China’s recent ban on phosphate fertilizer exports and tightening of controls on other fertilizers, including urea, has affected global fertilizer production, Rosenbusch advised the committee.

“Current factors that have most influenced the current fertilizer market are global demand for fertilizer, disruptive weather events, deferred facility maintenance due to the COVID-19 pandemic, international trade sanctions and actions, increasing transportation costs, and the rising cost of natural gas,” he said.

Along with delivery delays, farmers have seen a dramatic increase in fertilizer costs. In his testimony, Rosenbusch said that rising production and transportation costs for certain types of fertilizers led him to question “large cost-saving initiatives and questionable authority delegation to the rail industry.” With more than half of all fertilizer tonnage moving by rail, shippers have raised costs for fertilizer deliveries by millions of dollars, he said.

“Rail rates for shipping anhydrous ammonia, the building block of all nitrogen fertilizers and one of the most efficient sources of nitrogen for farmers, have increased by 206 percent over the past 20 years,” Rosenbusch testified. “That increase is more than triple the average increase for all other commodities combined.”

Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition, praised the November 5 House passage of the Biden administration’s “Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act” as a step towards relieving future supply chain bottlenecks. “The supply chain challenges over the past year have highlighted the reality that we can get supply right, and we can get demand right, but if we do not get infrastructure right, we, as an industry and as a broader economy, will not flourish,” Steenhoek said.  

“In addition to the overall stress confronting our global supply chain, a number of specific disruptions – Hurricane Ida, the Suez Canal, the I-40 bridge near Memphis, the Colonial Pipeline, etc. – have provided a vivid reminder that if one of our critical junctures goes awry for any number of reasons, the consequences to the broader economy can be profound.” 

Rosenbusch mentioned in his testimony that without fertilizer, the nation would have to make do with around half of its current food supply. 

“Many in the agricultural sector have experienced challenges related to crop inputs and fertilizer has not been spared,” he concluded. “We are proud of the industry’s efforts to ensure supply while dealing with changing global dynamics so that farmers in the U.S. and abroad are able to grow the food, fuel and fiber our growing world needs.”