Fertilizers are important agricultural inputs. This spring, the global fertilizer supply chain is undergoing a 'big test.' Tensions in the Strait of Hormuz have disrupted fertilizer exports from the Middle East, causing sharp fluctuations in international fertilizer prices; major agricultural countries highly dependent on fertilizer imports, such as India and Brazil, are facing the anxiety of 'waiting for fertilizers to plant fields.'

At present, the spring plowing and preparation in our country is progressing in an orderly manner, and it is the peak period for fertilizer use. How is the fertilizer market situation in our country, and are prices stable?

The price of chemical fertilizers in our country is stable

Urea and others are below international prices

Spring plowing is the peak season for fertilizer application, generally accounting for more than 40% of the annual fertilizer usage, mainly consisting of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers. Urea and diammonium phosphate are representative varieties of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers. Data show that currently, fertilizer prices in China are generally stable, and the domestic prices of urea and diammonium phosphate are both lower than international prices.

Vice President of China Agricultural Materials Circulation Association, Fu Chunhua:The international urea price, represented by the Black Sea urea FOB price, has currently reached $600 per ton, equivalent to 4,128 yuan per ton, more than double the current domestic average urea price of 1,900 yuan per ton. The current FOB price of Moroccan diammonium phosphate, converted to yuan, is 5,526 yuan per ton, which is also 1,000 yuan per ton higher than the domestic average price.

Fu Chunhua told reporters that in the international market, the prices of raw materials for fertilizer production such as natural gas and sulfur have surged due to the impact of supply chains affected by geopolitical conflicts, leading to a sharp increase in fertilizer production costs and a temporary spike in prices. As the world's largest fertilizer producer, China primarily uses coal rather than natural gas as the main raw material for urea production, forming a globally unique self-sufficient fertilizer system.

Vice President of the China Agricultural Materials Circulation Association, Fu Chunhua:At present, urea produced in China using coal as a raw material accounts for nearly 80% of the country's total urea production capacity, while urea produced using natural gas as a raw material only accounts for 20%. Since the start of spring plowing this year, urea production enterprises in China have been operating at full capacity to boost production, with an average operating rate close to 90%, higher than the same period last year.

While ramping up production at full capacity, our country has also implemented a series of macrocontrol measures such as export regulation, ensuring raw material supply, and coordinating production and sales. Furthermore, the national fertilizer commercial reserves have been fully utilized, with storage during the offseason and release in the peak season, using this 'reservoir' to stabilize fertilizer price fluctuations. Recently, our country has started releasing more than 10 million tons of nitrogen, phosphate, and compound fertilizer reserves to ensure sufficient supply and stable prices for spring plowing.

Vice President of China Agricultural Materials Circulation Association, Fu Chunhua:Relevant national authorities have taken a series of measures to ensure supply and stabilize prices, promoting fertilizer manufacturers to operate at full capacity, and accelerating procurement and transportation efforts in the circulation system such as supply and marketing cooperatives, to deliver fertilizers to the fields and ensure sufficient and stable fertilizer supply for spring plowing.

Unblocking the 'last mile' of agricultural supplies

How can we ensure that fertilizers quickly reach the fields while making farmers feel confident using them, and open up the 'last mile' of agricultural supply?

At the China Agricultural Materials Service Center for Farmers in Lishu County, Jilin Province, trucks loaded with fertilizer are entering and exiting the storage area in an orderly manner, and workers are rushing to load, unload, and transfer various types of fertilizer for spring farming.

Guan Lizhong, a large-scale farmer in Guojiadian Town, Lishu County, Siping City, Jilin Province:I planted more than 200 acres of land and bought more than 20 tons of fertilizer. The prices are quite stable, and now there are supplies in the warehouse. We can pick them up anytime, anywhere.

To cope with the peak season of fertilizer use for this year's spring plowing, the service center started reserve preparations half a year in advance. By sourcing directly from leading domestic fertilizer companies, it controls the quality and procurement costs of fertilizers from the origin, effectively responding to the impact of international market price fluctuations.

Yao Shupeng, Head of the Service Center for Farmers at China Agricultural Materials Pear Tree:Currently, we have stocked more than 90,000 tons of chemical fertilizers. At present, the total daily in-and-out volume exceeds 500 tons. We have launched point-to-point rural delivery services, delivering fertilizers directly to villages and fields, fully ensuring that our farmers have sufficient, stable-priced, and high-quality fertilizer for spring plowing.

Behind the timely delivery of fertilizers to the fields is the operation of an efficient service network. At the largest agricultural supplies distribution company in our country, the reporter saw a map showing the distribution of service outlets nationwide. Each grassroots agricultural supply outlet not only sells fertilizers and pesticides but also provides soil testing and formulation, technical guidance, and other services, enabling farmers to use agricultural supplies correctly and effectively.

Ding Lu, General Manager of Zhongnong Group, a subsidiary of China State Supply and Marketing Group:Since the beginning of this year, nearly 6 million tons of chemical fertilizers and nearly 100,000 tons of pesticides have been purchased. At the same time, we rely on the 'rail, road, and water' multimodal transport system to efficiently advance the distribution of goods. With 25,300 grassroots distribution service outlets across the country, supplies are sufficient and categories are complete, ensuring that spring farming agricultural materials are delivered to the fields in a timely manner.

As the main channel for agricultural input circulation in our country, the national supply and marketing cooperative system, with more than 4,800 agricultural input enterprises and over 280,000 agricultural input outlets, forms a nationwide network for agricultural input operations and services. This network ensures that the supply of agricultural inputs for spring plowing reaches the 'last mile' smoothly and without obstruction.