THE managing director of a Brisbane-based fertiliser distributor said there were still phosphorus-based products available out of Brisbane and Newcastle.
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Southern fertiliser firms have reported demand from the northern cropping belt, with farmers concerned both about price and availability of phosphorus (P) products, however Craig Salmon, Advanced Nutrients, said his company had fertiliser available at a competitive rate.
“I am not going to say there will be no shortages anywhere at anytime, as the reports are right, international stocks of MAP and DAP are tight, but there are choices there.”
Mr Salmon, whose company has been around for ten years, primarily dealing in specialty and niche phosphorus and nitrogen products, such as Black Urea, a nitrogen fertiliser with a carbon coating designed to minimise volatilisation and leaching.
He said the company, which distributes its All-Fert brand of bulk fertilisers, such as MAP, DAP and urea, had supply of bulk and niche fertilisers both in Australia and on the water, at a competitive rate.
“I certainly think it is possible to get competitively priced bulk fertiliser lines out of Newcastle or Brisbane,” he said.
However, he also urged growers to consider their full range of choices.
“P does not automatically mean MAP or DAP, we want people to realise there is a wider range of choices through both liquids and solid fertilisers.”
Mr Salmon said liquid P was common in the US, and that Australian growers could also make a decision to use liquids relatively close to fertiliser application.
“There’s this myth that liquids are far more expensive and that they require heavy infrastructure costs, but you get a tractor and a tank and half a day and you can be set up, ready to go. It’s not a big change.”
“It may be a bit of scare-mongering from others, but we just want people to know, even if there isn’t any DAP or MAP about, for whatever reason, there still are other choices."
Mr Salmon said Advanced Nutrients distributed about 40,000 tonnes of bulk and specialist fertiliser annually, primarily into northern NSW and Queensland.
Meanwhile, there has been a $50/t drop in Tampa, US, DAP and MAP prices in the past week, taking them back to $US448.