Fertilizer shortage could be catastrophic

The world is facing the prospect of a dramatic shortfall in food production as rising energy prices cascade through global agriculture, the CEO of Norwegian fertilizer giant Yara International says.

"I want to say this loud and clear right now, that we risk a very low crop in the next harvest," said Svein Tore Holsether, the CEO and president of the Oslo-based company. "I’m afraid we’re going to have a food crisis."

Speaking to Fortune on the sidelines of the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Holsether said that the sharp rise in energy prices this summer and autumn had already resulted in fertilizer prices roughly tripling.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/going-food-crisis-energy-crunch-090255366.html
 
There is hope at hand, Guano will be along shortly to fertilize the land.

EmbellishedTanLice-size_restricted.gif
 
I have 2 1/2 bags of 10-20-10.

I too bought enough for all of 2022 in the fall of 2021, at prices that were way above 2020, but Spring 2022 will almost certainly be way worse.

The big problem here though is that the shortage and price increases are global, that food production is likely to be down as prices skyrocket, and that the problem seems to be getting worse.

It is worth noting that the Chinese are only selling fertilizer to their friends for the forseeable future, which is how the Empire works...the CHinese come first, their friends come next, everyone else gets to fight over the leftovers.
 
Well, this is what you get when scientific illiterates are the ones setting national policy...

We are rapidly entering breakdown of civilization territory. I get the sense that the chip shortage is getting worse too. You are right, we...and by we I mean at least all of the West....suffer from shit quality leadership.
 
WAIT....WSJ is letting me have it for free!

“Lower fertilizer use will inevitably weigh on food production and quality, affecting food availability, rural incomes and the livelihoods of the poor,” said Josef Schmidhuber, deputy director of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s trade and markets division.

As the pandemic enters year three, more households are having to cut down on the quantity and quality of food they consume, the World Bank said in a note last month, noting that high fertilizer prices were adding to costs. Around 2.4 billion people lacked access to adequate food in 2020, up 320 million from the year before, it said. Inflation rose in about 80% of emerging-market economies last year, with roughly a third seeing double-digit food inflation, according to the World Bank.

Diammonium phosphate, or DAP, a commonly used phosphate fertilizer, cost $745 per metric ton in December—more than double its 2020 average price. December prices for Eastern European urea, a widely exported nitrogen fertilizer, were nearly four times the 2020 average.
 
Not Cool:

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A massive fire tore through a fertilizer plant in Winston-Salem Monday night and continues to burn, forcing thousands to evacuate.

The Weaver Fertilizer Plant or Winston Weaver Company, Inc. is located on North Cherry Street. The company makes fertilizers and plant food that is sold at Lowe’s stores in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia and North and South Carolinas.
https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/n...salem/83-677e1424-f452-4e7a-ad8e-959f29714685
 
Between this and a bunch of other problems caused by mismanagement a global food shortage is now very possible.

Buckle Up.
 
The percent of household budget that goes to food is already going up.

It will continue to go up, way up.

Buckle Up.
 
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