Industry and the opposition have asked for investigations into high fertilizer costs
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
The Manitoba government is keeping an eye on increasing fertilizer prices.
Farmers were paying about $640 per metric tonne in the fall of 2020. Those prices rose into the $700s in 2021 and now some producers have paid more than $1900 per metric tonne of synthetic fertilizer.
If costs continue to go up, profit margins for Manitoba farmers could get thinner, said Derek Johnson, Manitoba’s agriculture minister.
“The Manitoba government is concerned about high fertilizer prices for Manitoba farmers and the implications this may have on their operations and bottom-line,” he told Farms.com in an emailed statement. “While reasons for this pricing are global is scope, we will continue engaging with farmers and industry in Manitoba to ensure we are providing the support and tools needed to assist them in remaining economically prosperous and sustainable.”
Both industry and the official opposition have asked the government to look into these increased costs.
Diljeet Brar, the Manitoba NDP’s critic for agriculture and resource development, sent a letter to Minister Johnson on Jan. 18 to formally request an investigation.
“I urge you and your cabinet colleagues use all powers available to ensure a fair price for producers,” Brar’s letter says.
Farmers want answers too.
On Jan. 12, Katie Ward, president of the National Farmers Union, wrote to the House of Commons Agriculture Committee asking for answers.
Because the fertilizer market is dominated by a few companies, they’re able to take advantage of producers, she said.
“When farmers experience these problems our net income goes down, yet we see fertilizer companies’ incomes skyrocketing,” she said in her letter. “We believe the best explanation for company profit increases is that their incredible market power allows them to charge whatever the market will bear…”
Farm organizations south of the border have also asked government to look into high fertilizer prices.
The Family Farm Action Alliance wrote a letter to the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice to examine prices farmers are being asked to pay.
The organization studied reports from Nutrien and Yara and found these companies “have the capacity, they’ve idled the capacity and it appears they have created the shortages themselves,” Joe Maxwell, president of the Family Farm Action Alliance, told Farms.com in December.