Nutrien Ltd., the world’s largest maker of crop nutrients, is cautioning against any meddling in the economics of fertilizer markets. “The artificial injection of artificial constraints into supply-and-demand fundamentals never really works very well,” CEO Ken Seitz said during a Nov. 2 interview with Bloomberg.
The warning followed an Iowa Corn Growers Association (NCGA) call for US scrutiny of fertilizer pricing and the impact higher costs have on farmers and consumers. The group said it has crafted language that they want added to the next national farm bill that would “review competition and transparency in the fertilizer industry” and mandate an assessment of pricing by the US Department of Agriculture, according to a Nov. 2 NCGA statement.
NCGA said the requirement, if adopted, would help farmers understand why price increases are recurring and give Congress “adequate information on the exertion of market power by companies within the industry.”
While Seitz didn’t comment directly on the Iowa organization’s push, he stressed the competitiveness of the global fertilizer industry. “No one in this market by any measure controls prices,” he said. “There’s no such thing.”
Separately, Nutrien on Nov. 1 posted disappointing third-quarter profits amid weaker-than-expected fertilizer volumes and pricing. Seitz said the outlook for the October-December period in North America is strong, barring any weather issues.