Despite the geopolitical and logistical challenges that affected the global fertilizer trade and led to significant price increases among inputs, Brazil has boosted imports.
Data from the Foreign Trade Secretariat (Secex) of the Ministry of Economy released on the 25th show that imports in April have already exceeded 2 million tonnes. The volume registered until last Friday is already 10% greater than in the same month of 2021 (1.8 million tonnes).
The government has imported about 6.5 million tonnes of chemical fertilizers since January. Purchases have grown even more in terms of value. They reached US$ 1.3 billion in April, up 258% from the same month last year (US$ 527.9 million).
The price per tonne went from US$ 280 in April 2021 to US$ 634.5 now, an increase of 126%. The daily average of shipments increased from 94.19 thousand tonnes to 149 thousand tonnes a day in comparison.
The Ministry of Agriculture monitors the flow of purchases and fertilizer arrivals daily, keeping an eye on the rising quantities and raising the red flag over rising costs. Internally, however, the mood is upbeat, especially when it comes to maintaining Russian goods supplies, which pass through St. Petersburg on the Baltic Sea, far from the Ukraine crisis.
On Monday, the Minister of Agriculture, Marcos Montes, met in Brasília with Corrine Ricard, president of Mosaic Fertilizantes, one of Brazil’s leading suppliers of fertilizers. The executive reported the work that has been done by the company to “maintain supplies and said that the country is a “preferred customer,” according to Valor.
Source: Valor Econômico
