Time is running out on the fertilizer market. The options for spreading manure are getting smaller and smaller and that, together with the still ample supply, is putting further pressure on the manure market. Despite the more favorable weather forecast that is imminent, a fall in prices is not likely.
There is a lot of running and standing still on the manure market. The rainfall of recent weeks still has a grip on the manure market, meaning that only limited manure has been able to be spread so far. In the days before Easter, manure was spread in many regions, but there was no peak pressure as in other years. "So far you can't actually call it a free-run season," says an intermediary. In addition, spreading manure could not always take place under good conditions and was often too wet, resulting in structural damage.
Price reduction far away
In almost all arable farmers, the wheat has now reached a growth stage where spreading manure causes damage. With the loss of this space, pressure on the fertilizer market increases further. While the supply is already wider this season, especially of cattle slurry. The manure pits and silos are still 'well full' and some manure traders indicate that they are already having difficulty processing the volumes of fixed agreements.
The fact that the fertilizer market is under pressure is also clearly visible in DCA's fertilizer quotations. Cattle and pig slurry prices are stable and in some regions are even slightly increasing compared to last week. That is a very different picture than normal in these weeks of the spreading season, when prices are actually falling. Even now that more favorable weather is expected for spreading, fertilizer traders are not sure whether a serious price reduction is still possible given the ample, depressing supply.