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Fertiliser prices chase high food price

Friday, October 19 07:51:48

Fertiliser firm Yara reported third-quarter core earnings above expectations today and said that high food prices and low fertiliser stocks give farmers stronger pre-buying incentives than a year ago. "The global farm margin outlook and incentives for fertiliser application are strong," the firm said in a statement. "Pre-buying incentives for the new season are significantly stronger than a year ago, with higher grain prices and lower nitrogen fertiliser prices."

World food prices continued to rise in September after the worst drought in more than 50 years in the United States sent corn and soybean prices to record highs over the summer, while a drought in Russia and other Black Sea exporting countries raised fears of a renewed crisis. Prices for urea fertiliser in China, the world's biggest producer, were 7 percent lower than in the third quarter last year and a significantly lower export tax reduced export prices, Yara said. The firm's average realised prices were lower in the third quarter for all main product groups but deliveries were up 4 percent compared to a year earlier.

"Lower European nitrate deliveries were partly offset by strong nitrate sales growth in Brazil," it said. "Despite increased grain prices and improved farm margins, buyers in Europe remain cautious, partly influenced by the negative macroeconomic environment. July-September adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), excluding one-off items, fell to 4.19 billion crowns ($744.54 million) from 4.21 billion in the year-ago period, while analysts had on average expected 4.15 billion. ( C) Reuters