What’s Happening in The Market – March
The world is a difficult place to navigate at the moment and we are thinking of anyone negatively affected by the coronavirus at this time.
Fortunately for agriculture, the government is classifying us as an industry they want to keep open during the shutdowns, so we are very grateful right now.
This is an important update to reassure you that we have you covered for sowing, and to explain the status of some of the key chemicals.
Chemical Supply Chains have been disrupted since the Chinese New Year at the end of January. Factories were completely stopped at that time. Since then, factories have been progressively reopening but only slowly. At the same time, logistics and shipping have also been severely affected.
The arrival of raw materials and finished goods have been delayed by between 4- 12 weeks, meaning that goods that were planned for production in the last 8 weeks have been pushed into March and April.
Crop Smart is in the fortunate position of operating its own formulation plant in Melbourne. What this means for you is that we have been able to put plans in place to compress our manufacturing season from 12 weeks into 6. We will be working split shifts and over weekends for as long as it takes to get your orders out to you.
The summary below of the key actives you will be concerned about provides more detail.
Glyphosate – Most of the raw materials have already shipped and have begun arriving in Melbourne. We are producing now and until end of April to cover 100% of your sowing requirements.
Paraquat – We will have all of our existing orders covered by the end of March with more product arriving early April.
Trifluralin – We have already made 50% of this year’s production, and the raw materials for the balance have been shipped and are arriving now. This is enough to cover all the orders we have already taken. We have a small amount left to sell, which we will make available once it has been produced.
Prosulfocarb – We are producing this month and the first 2 weeks of April – like Trifluralin, the raws for all of our existing orders have been shipped.
Post Emergent Products – Orders for all post emergent products are 12 weeks ahead of past seasons. This is going to makes some products scarce for walk-in buys. This season, more than ever, it is essential to be organised and purchase early.
Please be safe and take all necessary precautions in relation to Covid-19 as we can continue to assist you this season.
