Farmers relieved as fertiliser prices cut
Published:Friday | June 24, 2022 | 12:12 AM
Amid a global shortage spurred by the Russia-Ukraine war, Jamaica has three to four months’ supply of fertiliser available for the market - good news for farmers who learnt of price cuts Thursday.
Ongoing supply-chain disruptions linked to the coronavirus pandemic had already caused a spike in prices.
“We are not expecting any issue in terms of raw material availability. We are fully stocked, so that means we can provide without any problem, and hopefully, things are going to continue to get better in the world market,” said Newport Fersan Jamaica Managing Director Dennis Valdez during a Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries media briefing Thursday.
Newport Fersan controls 85 per cent of the fertiliser market and is the sole manufacturer of the input locally.
Effective Thursday, fertiliser prices were cut by up to 4.5 per cent – the second price reduction in recent weeks.
Agriculture Minister Pearnel Charles Jr shared that in April, a bag of Green Plus Blend fertiliser cost $6,140.
When prices fell by by a maximum of 14 per cent in May, it was sold for $5,080.
With the latest announcement, it will be sold for $4,850 per bag.
“I’m sure that all farmers across this country will be very happy for the savings because as we say in Jamaica, every mickle make a muckle, particularly during these trying times,” said Charles Jr.
“It is my hope that this reduction is going to assist in the building of resilience across the farming sector and the boosting of production.”
President of the Jamaica Agricultural Society, Lenworth Fulton, said Thursday’s revelation was the best news farmers have received in the last two years.
“They will be able to spend less money on fertiliser or buy more. I am also encouraging farmers to use organic fertiliser with the inorganic to improve their soil quality and to stretch the fertiliser a little more,” he said in a Gleaner interview.
Jamar Crosse, a farmer from Simon in Rock River, Clarendon, said he was grateful that the prices have been reduced.
“Now that it’s cheaper, tomorrow I will be able to buy a bigger bag,” said the 26-year-old farmer, who produces sorrel, corn, and gungo peas.
Newport Fersan imports the raw material to manufacture fertiliser, but the company is exploring alternatives to substitute some elements.
“For instance, organic matter that we produce can be used to enhance the soil and to allow the soil to better take up the nutrients that are regularly produced from the fertiliser,” the managing director explained.
Valdez also urged farmers to educate themselves on the proper use of fertiliser as cultivators were, in some instances, overdeploying inputs.