A letter in which chemical group Bayer warns of problems with the supply of glyphosate-containing products due to a mechanical defect at a supplier of one of the raw materials for this active ingredient, was leaked earlier this week. According to insiders, the consequences for the availability of glyphosate in the Netherlands for next spring will remain limited for the time being, after survey of Boerenbusiness.
Bayer emphasizes that the consequences of the supplier problems will be limited for the annual production of glyphosate. The German group has purchased additional raw materials and taken other measures to control the situation as well as possible. "In addition, we are monitoring seasonal demand for glyphosate and will make efforts to balance supply in our sales regions to ensure farmers have maximum access to our Roundup products," Bayer said in a statement. The fact that there is likely to be a shortage of glyphosate in the Netherlands is confirmed by several other manufacturers of products with this active ingredient. "I can't see that customers are knocking on our door en masse for glyphosate agents," said another producer.
New market situation
In general terms, various manufacturers of crop protection products indicate that the market is quite tense. Logistics chains are severely disrupted, inflation is at its highest level in years and energy prices are skyrocketing. Much is being said about the aftermath of the corona pandemic, but that is not the whole story, according to other sources. In China, for example, due to the energy crisis, provinces have been cut off from electricity for days in the past period. But also, for example, the damage to factories in the Gulf of Mexico caused by Hurricane Ida - despite the fact that in many cases the damage has already been largely repaired - still affects the current market. Only one excipient needs to be missing or the production of a drug or group of products will be delayed, warn insiders.
The certainty that deliveries will be made on time and at stable prices, as was more or less the case in recent years (decades), has disappeared in recent years. This is not only an issue for medium producers, but in many more sectors, from construction materials to consumer electronics. Producers of crop protection products have noticed the disruptions for some time and are doing their best to respond to the newly created situation. "This time it's Bayer, but it might as well have happened to us," said a source. The market has fundamentally changed and it is unavoidable that our customers (the middlemen) and ultimately the farmer will suffer the consequences, the insiders fear.