Brazil imported 29.1 million tons of fertilizers in the first nine months of this year, a new record for the period. The volume of purchases was 20% higher than in the same period last year, when imports totaled 24.6 million tons. The increase occurred as a reflection of the expansion of soyabean, corn and cotton planting areas and so-called “spot” purchases, made in a timely or sporadic manner. The information is from the October logistics bulletin of the National Supply Company (Conab). The state-owned company pointed out, however, that producers and traders of agricultural insums reported delays in fertilizer deliveries. According to these reports, the available truck fleet is not supporting the volume increase sent from ports to Mato Grosso, for example. According to Conab, there is no indication so far of the problem of fertilizer supply for this harvest, even with the temporary suspension of exports of these products imposed by China. In the last ten years, Brazilian imports of Chinese fertilizers grew 606.13%, from 674,900 tons in 2012 to 4.09 million tons in 2021.
Sources: Valor/Portos e Navios