Canberra-The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission reports that it has not been provided with any evidence suggesting a likely breach of the Trade Practices Act by any participant in the Australian fertilizer industry. The ACCC said the rise in fertilizer prices in the country is mainly attributable to rapidly increasing global fertilizer prices. It said these increases have been caused by a substantial increase in world demand for fertilizer associated with an expansion in agricultural production and by rises in costs of production associated with the increasing cost of energy. This is occurring in a market where the global supply capacity is limited in the short-to-medium term, said the ACCC. The Commission noted that much of the concern raised was how quickly prices rose between late 2007 and early 2008. It said much of this increase was caused by a situation of deficiency in short-term supply associated with an unexpected bringing forward of demand by end users in the context of rapidly increasing world prices.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain