The collapse in gas prices has reported the cost of fertilizers to pre-war levels, with a reduction overall of 40% compared to 2022. Good news for olive growers in view of spring fertilization to support the vegetative growth of plants. He remembers it Coldiretti who carried out an analysis on the effects of the drop in gas quotes which descends in Amsterdam below 48 euros per megawatt hour, the minimum level since the beginning of December 2021. Synthetic fertilizers (nitrogen, phosphate or potassium) are, in fact, obtained with highly energy-intensive procedures and Italy - underlines Coldiretti - is dependent on foreign countries for the production of these products.
In detail, the price of urea, the most used fertilizer, and that from next March it will be used by olive growers, swing today between 60 and 65 euros/quintal, in line with the data for autumn 2021, far from the over 110 euro achieved in the first months of the conflict in Ukraine. More reasonable too phosphate prices got off at 40 euros/quintal, down by 25% while the decreases on products based on are instead more contained potassium which show a slight fluctuation (-5%).
“The economic difficulties – recalls Coldiretti – had led to reduce the purchase of technical means essential for crops, already severely affected by the anomalous climate, with declines up to -30% precisely for the use of fertilizers whose increase is influenced by the fact that world production strongly depends on the cost of gas and is concentrated in Russia and Belarus. Italy imports about 70% of mineral fertilizers (nitrogen, phosphate, potassium), with Egypt alone representing just under 50% of imports, followed by Algeria, Libya, Turkey, Morocco. It is - Coldiretti concludes - an important trend reversal for the balance sheets of agricultural companies and for guaranteeing the productivity of crops ".
