Bioenergy-driven heat causes global fertilizer price increases

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According to the latest statistics from **the customs, in the first six months of this year, 6.46 million tons of fertilizers were imported into the country, worth approximately $1.51 billion – representing increases of 23.5% and 32.5% respectively compared to the same period last year. And this is just a glimpse of the rising prices of global fertilizers. It is understood that the surge in interest in developing bioenergy in countries such as the United States has **significantly increased demand for fertilizers, driving up global fertilizer prices substantially. 　　Global oil shortages have prompted countries to turn their attention to developing bioenergy. Data shows that the United States’ bioenergy production has reached over 10 million tons and is continuing to increase. The United States plans to increase the proportion of bioenergy used in petroleum products for transportation to over 7% by 2012. The EU plans to add 5.75% bioenergy to transportation within 10 years. Japan plans to increase the proportion of bioenergy to 10% within the next 10 years. Brazil will increase the proportion of bioenergy to 20%–25% over the next 10 years. 　　The development of bioenergy has greatly increased the demand for crops such as corn. Today, corn has evolved from a traditional food and feed industry ingredient to an industrial raw material used in various fields such as starch, lysine, and fuel ethanol, and its cultivation area is continuing to expand in various countries. Currently, the area of corn planted for biofuel production accounts for 20% of the total corn planting area, and it is expected that this proportion will rise to 35% over the next 3 to 4 years. Last year, the actual processing capacity of the major corn processing enterprises in Northeast China exceeded 10 million tons. As a result, demand for global fertilizers continues to rise, driving up international fertilizer prices rapidly. The price of diammonium phosphate in Port Tampa, USA, rose from $256 per ton at the beginning of January 2007 to $422 per ton by the end of March, an increase of 65% ； Urea prices in the U.S. Gulf Coast rose from $220 per ton at the beginning of November 2006 to $362 per ton by the end of March, an increase of 65% as well. 　　Some domestic experts have pointed out that bioenergy is a good alternative to fossil fuels, and it can also stimulate the development of industries related to fertilizers and similar products. However, the fertilizer industry is energy-intensive; the more that is produced, the more energy is consumed. It is worth careful consideration by human society as to how to balance the benefits of using one form of energy in order to save another. 　　It is also understood that since the beginning of this year, energy prices such as coal, electricity, and gas worldwide have faced significant upward pressure. To prevent the outflow of energy, some countries have successively introduced restrictions on fertilizer exports; for example, countries such as Egypt and Indonesia have imposed limits on urea exports.