News Crop protection
First choice fungicide not always available
Growers have the greatest difficulty in keeping crops healthy and suppliers are noticing that there is a high demand for fungicides in particular. Some plant protection products (PPP) are therefore difficult or impossible to obtain.
The shortage of GBM has not yet led to major problems, but various suppliers indicate that they have to switch. The drug of first choice is not always available, but usually a solution can still be found with alternatives.
Weak spots
According to suppliers, the shortage of some PPPs has various causes. The wet course of this cultivation year - as a result of which the infection pressure of, for example, phytophthora or downy mildew is extremely high - does expose the weak spots in the chain.
In the autumn prior to the cultivation year, manufacturers and buyers from the suppliers already estimate what will be sold in the coming year and adjust production accordingly. Various scenarios are taken into account to ensure that the correct and sufficient resources are available in both dry and wet years.
Efficiency
There has been a shift in thinking in the chain in recent years. Manufacturers try to work as efficiently as possible and adjust their production to (expected) demand. They also try to keep stocks limited further in the chain. Partly for cost reasons. Keeping stock costs money, both for storage and the capital that goes into it. But the European and Dutch admission policy also plays a role.
In the past 3 (dry) years it was not so noticeable, but in the current wet year it is clear that several important resources have been lost. Shifting resources to achieve a consistent schedule with availability and a limited number of applications per season is gradually becoming a challenge according to various suppliers.
Long term vision
Suppliers often plan a year in advance. If it is clear that a product will lose its approval in 3 years' time, for example, this can be taken into account in production and stock management. Last fall and winter, for example, a lack of clarity about mancozeb caused problems. Manufacturers and traders had to make a decision about mancozeb-containing products in October and November, long before the Ctgb granted final authorization in January.
Some suppliers call the current perils in the GMB chain a wake-up call. Rising costs for development, production and approval make the resources more and more expensive and availability is not a matter of course. Good planning, also by the grower, is therefore becoming increasingly important.
Jurphaas Lugtenburg
© DCA Market Intelligence. This market information is subject to copyright. It is not permitted to reproduce, distribute, disseminate or make the content available to third parties for compensation, in any form, without the express written permission of DCA Market Intelligence.
