February Market Update 2021
Well, we have made it through 2020, which was one for the history books. We were all hoping 2021 would be less challenging, but it looks like the Covid impact is continuing into this year as well. It seems like shutdowns and lockdowns will be part of the new life norm in Australia this year. In world trade, at the moment, the biggest challenge is shipping. Product is not moving around the world at pre-Covid speeds, and it’s creating unpredictability in supply.
First up is fertiliser. I don’t think anyone imagined that it would end up like this. Right now, the facts are it’s difficult to get supply from suppliers, and the price is high. Although there is more product coming, ships are getting delayed, and there’s concern about how quickly stock will arrive. The message here is similar to what we’ve been saying for months now – be organised. The more organised you are, the less risk you have. If we can help you out with your fertiliser, please get in touch with one of the Crop Smart team.
As far as chemical supply goes, the message is similar – be more organised than normal. Internally at Crop Smart, we have ordered, shipped, and manufactured product in Melbourne earlier than ever, so we encourage you to think similar with your farming business – order and ship earlier than usual. Currently, we are organised for the coming cropping season for our core customers, but if any of our competitors aren’t, and we have their customers looking to us for supply, it creates a supply and demand imbalance. This is what happened last year, and in an industry where two players own 55% of the market, there is a greater reliance on the big boys to get it right. As a nimble player with staff in China and an end-to-end supply chain (including our own formulation), it’s never been more apparent the value and security Crop Smart brings to our customers. There is no safer place to be entrusting your inputs too. Hopefully, you’re already working with the Crop Smart sales team to position you well this season.
Glyphosate – prices are still rising slowly, so there’s no better time to buy for sowing than now.
Paraquat – has reached some of the lowest levels we have seen for years and still looks like a great time to buy.
We are hoping for some more summer rains to add more moisture into everyone’s profile from here. The rainfall patterns are looking positive for an “average” season so let’s hope they continue to flow through to sowing.
