An effort by the Jamaican government to help sugar cane growers deal with the rising price of fertilizer backfired to the tune of just over $1 million. The government imported 2,500 mt of an NPK mix through a Jamaican trading house based in the U.S. Reportedly, the product used city sewage sludge as filler. Local media reports said government and agriculture association officials on hand to receive the test shipment fainted when the container was opened at the Kingston wharf. Warehouse workers handling the product have also reported vomiting and nausea.
The government stepped into the NPK procurement when the only fertilizer company in Jamaica – Newport-Fersan – was accused of gouging local buyers, an accusation the company denies. Fersan executives said the high prices of fertilizer around the world set the price. The company is owned by Fersan of the Dominican Republic and a Jamaican partner. Disputes between the fertilizer company on one hand and the Jamaican government and Jamaica Cane Product Sales on the other have been brewing for more than a year.
Newport-Fersan imports the components of its blended fertilizer from a variety of sources, including the FSU. The record increases in urea and other inputs during the past 18 months affected the NPK blends the company made for the Jamaican market.
The Jamaican agriculture minister complained about the high prices and vowed to help the country’s struggling agricultural sector. The first step was to find another source for fertilizer. The Sugar Cane Growers Association decided to try the sample shipment from New York City.
In the end, the buyers paid a deposit of $1.4 million to the trading house. When the shipment did not arrive on time, the buyers tried to retrieve their deposit plus a $250,000 commission paid to the trading house.
Government officials have reportedly opened talks with traders to import Russian NPK at a lower price than what Fersan had initially offered. The growers are desperate for fertilizer in time for the next application season.
Fersan officials say they are once again in talks with the Jamaican government and growers associations to supply the needed fertilizer.