China has started marketing fertilizer from its reserves. That writes Reuters news agency based on information from the state planning agency. This concerns more than 3 million tons of fertilizer that will be made available to farmers in March.
Additional fertilizer is released from the reserves during the spring to meet the seasonal peak in demand. The government is closely monitoring developments in the fertilizer market to ensure a stable supply and to keep prices under control, the National Development and Reform Committee said in a statement. In particular, the price of nitrogen fertilizers is closely related to the price of gas and coal. Now that prices are soaring, China is trying to mitigate the effects on the fertilizer market by releasing part of its reserves.
trade policy
The Chinese government has been pursuing a targeted policy on fertilizers for some time. Since July 2021, rules have come into effect to limit exports and from October the restrictions have been tightened to such an extent that the export of phosphate fertilizers has become virtually impossible. Beijing has built up stock and already made plans last September to bring that stock to the market in batches during the season. The aim of this is to keep the prices of fertilizer under control and thus to guarantee food security where possible. According to Reuters, China produced 2021% more fertilizer in 0,8 compared to earlier, while exports fell by 42%. In total, 54,46 million tons of fertilizer has been produced in China.