Ingredient needed for pretty much all food just got way more expensive. Your grocery bill may soar too
(NEXSTAR) – Unless you’re a farmer or avid gardener, you don’t spend much time thinking about the cost of fertilizer. But this crop is a crucial component in growing or producing almost everything you put in your shopping cart or served on your dinner plate.
And it has become much more expensive.
The cost of fertilizer has increased since the beginning of the Persian War. Before the war, approximately 30% of the world’s fertilizers passed through the Strait of Hormuz, and access to this waterway was effectively cut off.
At the end of May, Associated Press He reported that fertilizer prices increased by 40 percent in three months. A rice farmer in Arkansas told Economist The cost of the fertilizer he needed suddenly increased by $50 per acre, increasing the cost of production for the season by $200,000.
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Expensive fertilizer is bad news for growers and consumers.
“All else being equal, we expect to see higher prices for corn, soybeans, wheat, potatoes, strawberries, anything that uses fertilizer,” said Dan Scheitrum, who teaches agribusiness at the Cal Poly College of Agriculture.
Corn and wheat are among the products most affected by fluctuations in fertilizer prices. Fertilizer accounts for approximately 33% to 44% of operating costs for corn and 43% to 45% for wheat. United States Department of Agriculture.
Some farmers can be more flexible, while others cannot.
“Maybe you won’t be planting corn, soybeans or potatoes on a lot of acres, but that’s not really an option, especially in California, for growers who have orchards or perennial crops and can’t really cut down planted acres of vineyards or trees because they’re already there,” Scheitrum said.
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Farmers could use less fertilizer, of course, but that would likely mean lower yields. Smaller yields also mean higher prices for consumers.
Carnivores don’t get off easily either. “The United States grows tremendous amounts of corn and soybeans,” Scheitrum said. “Most of the corn we grow is for animal feed. It goes to cows, pigs and poultry, and is a major component of the cost of producing beef, corn and chicken.”
In short, more expensive feed will mean more expensive meat.
Scheitrum added that fertilizer prices have started to fall slightly in recent weeks and would hypothetically fall further if the war in Iran ends. But for now, damage may have occurred.
Many farmers have already gone through the planting season without the fertilizer they need, or are paying too high prices for the fertilizer and fuel they need to produce and transport their crops. The United Nations World Food Program expects this to have a “devastating impact” on crop yields and therefore food prices and food prices. availability of food – over the coming months.
