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It’s spring planting time and fertilizer preparation – why is the Northeast in such a state of tension? Author/Source: China Fertilizer Network Date: 2020-03-06 Clicks: 120 From late February to early March, preparations for spring plowing and the procurement of fertilizers were in full swing. Fertilizer trading proceeded smoothly in the southern and central regions, while the fertilizer market in the northeastern region was somewhat tense. In some local markets, supplies had not yet reached all areas. Why does this situation occur in the fertilizer market during the spring plowing season? First, the start-up of blended fertilizer manufacturers in the Northeast region was delayed. Before the Spring Festival, the editors of China Fertilizer Network conducted an incomplete survey of blend fertilizer manufacturers in the Northeast region and found that most of these companies had not yet resumed full-scale production. In particular, fertilizer prices were highly volatile in December 2019, with urea prices fluctuating frequently; as a result, companies were cautious about stocking up on raw materials. Many of them had insufficient reserves of such materials. The outbreak of the pandemic followed shortly after the Spring Festival, and at present most blend fertilizer manufacturers have only just started to resume production, with companies in Heilongjiang Province being particularly slow to get back to normal operations. Secondly, due to the impact of the pandemic, not all workers from some enterprises were able to report for duty. The epidemic has now reached a turning point, and companies are gradually resuming work and production. However, travel remains severely restricted in some areas; villagers who go outside need to undergo quarantine, and many workers are unable to return to their jobs in a timely manner. As a result, the production pace of compound fertilizers and blended fertilizers is hindered, and thus the production volume of compound fertilizers in the Northeast region has not yet reached an adequate level. This leads to shortages of these fertilizers in certain areas. Nevertheless, the situation has improved recently, with better access to fertilizers in villages and households across the Northeast region. Once again, the supply of large-grain urea in the Northeast region is somewhat tight. At present, the price of large-grain urea in the Northeast region is continuing to rise; in some areas it has reached over 2,100 yuan per ton. This increase is mainly due to the resumption of operations by companies that produce blended fertilizers, which has led to a surge in demand for large-grain urea raw materials, resulting in a slight shortage of such urea. The shipment of small-grain urea, on the other hand, is progressing smoothly; companies are operating at high capacity, with daily production amounts exceeding 140,000 tons. Next, as fertilizer manufacturers resume operations, the transportation issues on major roads will gradually be resolved. In the future, \"point-to-point\" green channels will be established to address the problem of some villages being isolated, and the shortage of fertilizers in certain areas in the northeast will also be gradually alleviated. Prices will remain high in March, while whether fertilizer prices will continue to rise after the end of March and the beginning of April will depend on how well various issues are resolved in the coming period.