All Posts from March 3, 2023

Transportation

Illinois River, Mississippi RIver, Ohio River, Transportation, U.S. Gulf

US Gulf:

Calcasieu Lock maintenance, originally scheduled to last through March 3, was extended through April 6. Daytime travel was reportedly unavailable on weekdays, resulting in 10-27 hour delays for the week.

Sources expected Algiers Lock repairs to begin soon. The work is set to run for about seven weeks, with roughly 20 days of daytime shutdowns anticipated during that time. Delays at Algiers Lock were counted up to 37 hours on March 1.

Navigation was unavailable at Colorado Lock from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily due to ongoing maintenance, triggering wait times up to 52 hours. Work at the site is scheduled through March 10.

Travel was shut through the Belle Chasse Bridge between 6:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Feb. 24 and 28 due to bridge replacement work. An additional daytime shutdown was planned for March 2, with more closures expected in late March and April. The structure is located at Mile 3.8 of the Algiers Canal.

Wait times at Port Allen Lock were counted up to 15 hours through the week. Intermittent 5-15 hour transits were noted at Bayou Sorrel Lock. At Industrial Lock, Corps data put travel times up to 51 hours, while boats passing Brazos Lock were delayed up to 16 hours. A drawbridge malfunction was reported blocking travel at the West Canal’s Mile 357.

Mississippi River:

Shipping operators reported keeping an eye on water levels in the lower Mississippi River, as possible small-scale flooding continued to be forecast by the NWS.

Depths at Vicksburg were predicted to inch above the area’s 35.0-foot Action Stage on March 2, topping out at 35.2 feet on March 4 before falling out of Action Stage one day later. Levels at Baton Rouge were projected to move above that site’s 30.0-foot Action Stage threshold on March 5, lingering there until March 8. No towing restrictions from the elevated river levels were reported on March 1.

The Mel Price Lock and Chain of Rocks Lock primary chambers are closed to vessel traffic through March 31 and March 17, respectively, for maintenance and repairs, although transit remains possible through the secondary chambers at both sites. Intermittent 21-hour waits were observed at Mel Price Lock, while Corps data showed delays approaching 40 hours at Chain of Rocks Lock.

Locks 24 and 25 opened for the spring navigation season on Feb. 26. Locks 21 and 22 were due to open on March 2, followed by Locks 12, 13, 15, and 19 on March 3. Locks 3 and 4 are scheduled to resume lockages on March 12, while the planned reopening of Chain of Rocks and Mel Price on March 17 and March 31, respectively, are expected to mark the complete reopening of the upper river to commercial navigation. Barges destined for ports on the upper river began releasing from NOLA in February.

Illinois River:

High water levels reported on the upper Illinois River were noted to impact navigation. In addition to forcing slower travel speeds, bridge clearance issues were expected.

Wickets were down at both Peoria Lock and LaGrange Lock on March 1, allowing vessels to pass through the nonlocking navigational passes at both locations. Intermittent 5-10 hour delays were recorded at Marseilles Lock, while sporadic Starved Rock waits peaked above 19 hours.

The Illinois River is slated to close to commercial navigation between June and September for a large-scale lock repair and maintenance project. Brandon Road Lock, Dresden Island Lock, and Marseilles Lock are all scheduled to shut to navigation. Maintenance at Starved Rock Lock, previously planned to run concurrently with the larger shutdown, was deferred to an unspecified later date.

Ohio River:

The secondary chambers at Bellville Lock and Racine Lock reopened from planned repairs on Feb. 26. A subsequent main chamber shutdown at Racine Lock, begun on Feb. 26, was slated to run through March 12.

Intermittent primary chamber closures were scheduled through Aug. 20 at JT Meyers Lock due to floating mooring repairs. After the main chamber work ends, the lock’s secondary chamber is projected to go offline Aug. 21 through Sept. 10 for miter gate repairs. The primary chamber will then shut once more from Sept. 11 to Nov. 17.

Hannibal Lock was reported shut Feb. 20 through April 7 for planned maintenance, prompting delays in a wide 7-34 hour range through the week. Greenup Lock is set to undergo a primary chamber closure March 12 through April 12. The auxiliary chamber at Melville Lock will go offline April 17 through Aug. 4.

Boats were delayed up to nine hours through the Tennessee River’s Kentucky Lock during the week. Tows transiting Wilson Lock saw wait times up to 11 hours.

CF, South Korea’s Lotte Chemical Ink MOU to Explore US Clean NH3 Project, Offtake

Ammonia, Eastern Cornbelt, Featured, News, South Korea

CF Industries Holdings Inc. announced on Feb. 27 that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Lotte Chemical Corp., Seoul, South Korea’s largest chemical company, that will guide the companies in a joint exploration of clean ammonia production and long-term clean ammonia offtake into South Korea.

The MOU establishes a framework for the companies to assess the joint development of and investment in a greenfield clean ammonia production facility in the US, including at CF’s Blue Point Complex in Louisiana.

“We are pleased to advance our relationship with Lotte and leverage the world class expertise of both companies to meet the substantial emerging demand for clean ammonia in South Korea,” said Tony Will, CF President and CEO. “We look forward to helping Lotte and South Korea meet their clean ammonia requirements as we continue to accelerate the world’s transition to clean energy.”

“In order to bolster the domestic hydrogen economy, it is important to secure a stable supply of clean hydrogen and ammonia, especially in overseas regions with abundant energy and low geopolitical risks,” said Jin-koo Hwang, Lotte’s Head of Hydrogen Energy. “Through strategic collaboration with CF Industries, which has a long history and business experience, we will secure a production base in the USA and lead the global distribution channel.”

The companies plan to quantify expected clean ammonia demand in South Korea for power generation, bunkering, and other sectors, taking into account regulatory and policy requirements, as well as safety and environmental considerations. This workstream will confirm the scale of long-term offtake volume expectations for a potential clean ammonia facility.

Lotte has established a plan to produce and sell 1.2 million mt of clean hydrogen by investing a total of 6 trillion won ($4.3 billion) by 2030. It hopes to make annual revenue of 5 trillion won ($3.6 billion) from its hydrogen and ammonia business.

CF recently signed an MOU with JERA Co. Inc., Japan’s largest energy generator, regarding the supply of up to 500,000 mt/y of clean ammonia beginning in 2027 (GM Jan. 20, p. 1). The companies will evaluate supply options, including a JERA equity investment alongside CF to develop a greenfield clean ammonia facility in Louisiana, and a supplementary long-term offtake agreement from CF’s Donaldsonville Complex in Louisiana.

Since 2020, CF has advanced clean ammonia projects, including leveraging carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies at its Donaldsonville Complex, where CF is constructing a CO2 dehydration and compression facility to enable the capture and permanent sequestration of up to 2 million tons of CO2 per year, starting in 2025 (GM Aug. 12, 2022); commencing a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study to construct a $2 billion, 1.7 million mt/y greenfield blue ammonia facility utilizing CCS at its Blue Point Complex in Ascension Parish, La., with Mitsui & Co. Ltd. (GM Aug. 19, 2022); and constructing North America’s first commercial scale green ammonia capacity at its Donaldsonville Complex, enabling up to 20,000 tons of green ammonia production beginning in 2024 (GM Oct. 30, 2020).

Lotte recently signed a Joint Study Agreement (JSA) with Germany’s RWE Supply & Trading, Essen, and Mitsubishi Corp., Tokyo, to develop a large-scale integrated blue and green ammonia production and export project at the Port of Corpus Christi, Texas (GM Feb. 10, p. 1). The target date for first production is 2030, and the companies are looking at a phased build-out of production capacity of up to 10 million mt/y.

Lotte has signed a deal with Japan’s Itochu, Tokyo, to jointly invest in ammonia production facilities (GM July 29, 2022), and has inked an offtake agreement to take green ammonia from Trammo Inc. (GM Sept. 17, 2021). In late 2022, it partnered with six other companies to build a clean ammonia supply chain in the West Sea region of Korea.

Grupa Azoty Opens R&D Center for Biofertilizers

News, News Briefs, Poland, Specialty

Grupa Azoty Fosfory, a subsidiary of Polish fertilizer and chemicals group Grupa Azoty, SA, Tarnów, has opened an R&D center for biofertilizers at its Gdańsk-based plant.

“The decision to open an R&D center for biofertilizers was made considering the group’s extensive experience in fertilizer formulations that address the needs of sustainable agriculture and is a further step in the Azoty group’s plans to expand its portfolio in the Agro segment,” the group said in a Feb. 23 media statement.

“With its competencies and technological facilities, Grupa Azoty Fosfory will serve as the Azoty group’s competence center for biofertilizers,” it said.

Upcoming projects for the new R&D center include the development of a technology for manufacturing organic-mineral fertilizers or the development of a new technology for manufacturing fertilizers using biomass ash.

Belarus Enhancing Access to Russian Ports, Say Reports

Belarus, China, Lithuania, News, News Briefs, Potash, Russia

Belarus said it is set to complete the purchase of the Russian multipurpose sea cargo transshipment complex MSCC Bronka in the port of St. Petersburg this year, according to Belarusian state-owned national news agency BelTA, citing Belarus’ Minister of Transport and Communications Aleksey Avramenko. “The minister said the deal “is in the works,” and he expects it will be completed “in the near future.”

State-owned potash producer Belaruskali OAO signed a contract last June with St. Petersburg-based operator Keystone Logistics LLC to transship 2 million mt of potash in containers via the Bronka terminal through 2023, according to Bloomberg, citing a Kommersant report (GM June 24, 2022).

According to this week’s BelTA report, citing the minister, Belarus already is using the Bronka terminal to transship its “main export items.”

Belaruskali and BPC last July were reported to have started to ship products through Russian ports, according to a Kommersant report, citing unidentified people familiar with details (GM July 8, 2022). But the report did not name the specific ports being used.

Bronka is the only deep-water terminal in the port of St. Petersburg and can accommodate vessels of up to 13 meters draft. It is served by a nearby rail link. As of today, the terminal is able to handle annually about 1.9 million TEUs and over 200,000 units of vehicles and special equipment, according to the report.

Belarus last month also reiterated its aim of building a terminal in the Russian port of Murmansk to handle Belarusian potash and Belarusian fertilizers.

According to an Interfax report, citing Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, speaking at a February press conference, implementation work has begun.

Design work for a Belarusian fertilizer terminal in the port could begin on the western bank of the Kola Bay in 2023, with two optimal sites already selected, according to Murmansk Region Governor Andrey Chibis, also cited by the report, speaking late last year.

According to Chibis, “under an optimistic scenario,” construction of a terminal with an annual handling capacity of 5-7 million mt could begin in 2024.

Belarus has not been able to export potash – or NPKs – via the Lithuanian port of Klaipėda since Feb. 1, 2022, after Lithuania’s government terminated the railway transit contract between the country’s state-owned railway company Lietuvos Geležinkeliai’s (LTG) and Belaruskali over national security concerns (GM Jan. 14, 2022).

The Lithuanian government decision came in the wake of European Union and US sectoral sanctions on Belarus, which included, among other things, a ban on the trading and transit of potash.

Lithuania’s decision blocked Belarus’ key export route. Most of Belarusian potash exports up until that time were railed via Lithuania’s rail system for onward shipment from the country’s Klaipėda port.

Since then, Belaruskali and its potash marketing/exporting arm Belarusian Potash Co. (BPC) have sought to secure other routes to market. The Belarusian authorities have repeatedly emphasized the need “to make the maximum use of Russian ports” to ship Belarus’ goods.

But Belarus is also looking to China as it seeks more help for its sanctions-hit economy. The Belarusian president traveled to Beijing for a three-day state visit this week and held talks with China’s President Xi Jinping in a move to further cement the partnership between the two countries. As Moscow’s closest ally, Lukashenko has at the same time been endorsing Beijing’s efforts to play the peacemaker in the Ukraine war.

China is traditionally one of Belarus’ top three trade partners, and trade agreements were high on the agenda for discussion, according to a BelTA report, citing Belarus’ First Deputy Prime Minister Nikolai Snopkov.

Speaking to the news agency about trade, the minister drew attention to potash as a product of strategic importance.

Snopkov confirmed that negotiations are in progress between Belarusian companies and the main Chinese importers to discuss volumes and prices.

BelTA reported that Snopkov was not willing to discuss concrete figures, but he did promise a “substantial increase in volumes,” noting “how important food is and how important the potash fertilizers our country has are.”

In an attempt to mitigate the loss of shipping via the port of Klaipėda, Belarus last year was reported to have increased “substantially” its exports to China by rail in 2022, which included more than 1 million mt of potash, according to an Interfax report on Jan. 5, citing Belarus Transport and Communications Minister Alexei Avramenko, as quoted by BelTA (GM Jan. 6, p. 28).

Even so, Nutrien is among those international suppliers that do not believe there have been any “material improvements” in the volume of potash exported since sanctions on Belarus and restrictions on Russia were put in place around a year ago.

“Belarus’ supply in particular remains constrained, with shipments in recent months reported to be down more than 50% from the prior year,” Nutrien President and CEO Ken Seitz told analysts at a company earnings call on Feb. 16. “This illustrates the importance of having reliable access to tidewater ports, and the challenges associated with reworking distribution channels for a bulk commodity like potash.”

The Mosaic Co. also sees Belarus potash exports at half pre-sanctions levels, the company said at a company earnings call on Feb. 23.

Belarus no longer reports export data. Based on year-to-date import data (some December import data is not yet available), imports of potash from Belarus for 2022 show a 57% decline over 2021, to 3.977 million mt from 9.267 million mt, according to Trade Data Monitor.

Based on the import data, though not final, Green Markets’ Research Director Alexis Maxwell estimates that Belarusian 2022 potash exports will be some 4.3-4.5 million mt.

Belarus’ exported 11.8 million mt of potash in 2020, according to Trade Data Monitor. Almost 10.7 million mt of this total was shipped via the Biriu Kroviniu Terminalas (Bulk Cargo Terminal [BKT]) terminal in Klaipėda port, according to LTG (GM July 2, 2021). Belaruskali owns a 30% stake in the BKT terminal.

SQM 2022 Earnings Soar, Lithium Volumes Climb, Potash, Specialty Fertilizer Decline

Chile, Earnings, Lithium, News, Potash, Specialty

SQM Inc. reported full-year net income of $3.91 billion on revenues of $10.71 billion, up from 2021’s $585.5 million and $2.86 billion, respectively. Gross profit was $5.74 billion, up from $1.09 billion.

“We are well pleased with the extraordinary results that the company delivered in 2022,” said SQM CEO Ricardo Ramos. “While the positive price environment during the year contributed to the record earnings that we published today, our long-term view of the lithium market, the investments we made in new capacity, the risk we took, and the operational success, all of that well positioned us to benefit from the market conditions seen last year.

“The successful public-private alliance we have with CORFO is also yielding great results, allowing us to contribute more than US$5 billion to the Chilean treasury, along with important contributions to local governments and neighboring communities,” he added.

“As electric vehicle sales continue to grow, we now expect the lithium demand to reach almost 1.5 million mt by 2025. This strong demand growth expectations give us confidence as we remain focused on expanding our lithium production capacity. In Chile, we have reached a run-rate of 180,000 mt of high-quality lithium products while working to further expand our lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide capacity.”

In 2023-2025, the company is investing $1.4 billion to increase its lithium capacity in Chile to 210,000 mt, including 100,000 mt of lithium hydroxide capacity.

In addition, the Mt. Holland lithium project in Australia is in construction, and SQM expects it to be producing spodumene by the end of the year and lithium hydroxide during first-half 2025. The new Sichuan lithium refinery in China is expected to be completed in second-quarter 2023, while the company continues to invest in lithium exploration.

SQM’s full-year Lithium segment volumes were up 55% for the year, to 156,800 mt with an average sales price of $52,000/mt, compared to 2021’s 101,100 mt. Revenues were up 771%, to $8.15 billion from 2021’s $936.1 million. Lithium accounted for 79% of SQM’s consolidated gross profit.

Company-wide, fourth-quarter net income was $1.15 billion on revenues of $3.13 billion, up from the year-ago $321.6 million and $1.08 billion, respectively. Gross profit was $1.64 billion, up from $542.8 million.

While lithium sales volumes continue to grow for the company, those in the Specialty Nutrition (SPN) and Potassium Chloride & Potassium Sulfate (MOP/SOP) segments have declined.

Full-year SPN volumes were down 27% to 847,800 mt, down from 2021’s 1.15 million mt, with volumes off for all major categories in the group, including the largest – potassium nitrate-based products, which declined 26% to 477,400 mt from 643,600 mt. Citing higher prices, SQM believes global potassium nitrate demand decreased almost 15%. While the company expects some demand recovery in 2023, it currently does not expect it to fully recover to 2021 levels.

Full-year SPN revenues, however, were up 29% on the higher prices, to $1.17 billion from $908.8 million. SPN gross profit accounted for 8% of SQM’s gross profit for the year.

Fourth-quarter SPN revenues were up 2%, to $274.2 million from $268.4 million, with volumes off 30% to 199,200 mt from 285,200 mt.

Full-year MOP/SOP sales volumes were down 46% on higher prices, to 480,500 mt from 2021’s 893,200 mt. However, revenues were up 5%, to $437.2 million from $416.6 million. MOP/SOP represented 4% of SQM’s total 2022 gross profit.

SQM believes the potassium market demand may have reached 60 million mt in 2022, a decrease from 2021’s 71 million mt, as a result of higher market prices. It noted that prices came down in recent months, and its fourth-quarter prices were about 15% lower than the year-ago average for the quarter. The company said the price decrease should have a positive impact on demand, and it expects to see a recovery during the year. It said 2023 sales volumes could surpass 500,000 mt.

Fourth-quarter MOP/SOP volumes were down 68%, to 98,600 mt from 304,600 mt, while revenues dropped 61% to $80.5 million from $208.6 million.

Progressive Planet Reports Bentonite Sale

News, News Briefs, Specialty, Western Canada

Specialty fertilizer producer Progressive Planet (PLAN), Kamloops, B.C., on Feb. 27 announced that it has received a 40 mt order for swelling bentonite from a major North American fertilizer manufacturer. PLAN did not identify the manufacturer. The product is used in sulfur bentonite.

The company said the bentonite passed a rigorous series of quality control tests by the customer. It said the product is a direct byproduct from its production of Wundercat® cat litter, another product that comes from the company’s volcanic ash fields in southern B.C.

“I am delighted to see Progressive Planet continue to improve efficiencies by converting a mineral powder byproduct directly into a high-value end product without further processing,” said Progressive Planet CEO Steve Harpur.

“Historically, we would convert mineral powder byproducts back into granular products using costly incremental water, electricity, natural gas, and labor to wet, dry, extrude, and crush this material a second time,” he added. “Now, this valuable byproduct is simply bulk packaged and shipped. This increases our gross margins and creates a more sustainable manufacturing process from our volcanic ash and mineral supply chain.”

Harpur said the company is highly confident this initial fertilizer sale will be one of many, based on the company’s historic customer-retention record. “When customers order from Progressive Planet, our records show that over 90% reorder,” said Harpur. “That’s why Progressive Planet products are in 10,000 plus North American stores and outlets – and counting.”

The company announced earlier this month that it has inked an agreement with one of North America’s three largest big box stores to be a distribution partner for Wundercat.

PLAN, which calls itself a “disruptive innovator for cement and agricultural tech,” reported last year an expansion into custom-blended regenerative fertilizers and soil amendments using new specialty-blending equipment (GM July 8, 2022). It also announced the first commercial production of Hydr8™, a blend of biochar, zeolite, and humates, in partnership with Eco Health Industries Ltd., Maple Ridge, B.C., which developed the product.

PLAN also has joint development agreements with Eco Health, along with High Brix Manufacturing Inc., Leduc County, Alberta, to develop three regenerative fertilizers (GM Dec. 16, 2022).

House Committee Approves Resolution to Overturn WOTUS Rule

News, News Briefs, U.S.

The US House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Feb. 28 approved a joint resolution to overturn the Biden administration’s new “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule, calling it “flawed” and “overreaching.”

The committee said H.J. Res. 27 “eases regulatory burdens” for farmers, small businesses, manufacturers, home and infrastructure builders, local communities, and water districts, while also ensuring water quality under the Clean Water Act (CWA). H.J. Res 27 is part of a package of General Service Administration (GSA) resolutions that the committee said will save taxpayers more than $382 million.

“As American families and businesses continue suffering under the economic crises caused by the disastrous Biden policies of the last two years, this administration has inexplicably decided to move the country back toward the overreaching, costly, and burdensome WOTUS regulations of the past,” said Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.).

“Congress has the authority and responsibility to review onerous rules like this one handed down from the Executive Branch, and I’m proud that our committee voted to preserve regulatory clarity and prevent such overzealous, unnecessary, and broadly defined federal power,” he added.

Officially announced on Dec. 30 (GM Jan. 6, p. 1) by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers, the new WOTUS rule claims to restore protections that were in place prior to 2015 under the CWA, but with “updates to reflect existing Supreme Court decisions, the latest science, and the agencies’ technical expertise.” The rule was published in the Federal Register on Jan. 18.

The House committee resolution, which passed on a 30-22 vote, seeks to void the WOTUS rule before it takes effect on March 20. Several legal challenges have already been mounted against the rule, including a lawsuit filed on Feb. 16 by the attorneys general of 23 states (GM Feb. 24, p. 30) and an earlier lawsuit filed on Jan. 18 by a coalition of 17 trade groups (GM Jan. 27, p. 1).

“With today’s committee action, the House has taken the first step necessary to rescind the Biden administration’s flawed WOTUS rule,” said Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairman David Rouzer (R-N.C.). “This rule needs to be repealed so Americans across the country are protected from subjective regulatory overreach making it harder to farm, build, and generate economic prosperity.”

In all, five lawsuits have now been lodged against the new WOTUS rule, Bloomberg reported. The cases are Am. Farm Bureau Fed’n v. EPA, S.D. Tex., No. 3:23-cv-00020, complaint filed 1/18/23; Texas v. EPA, S.D. Tex., No. 3:23-cv-00017, complaint filed 1/18/23; Kentucky v. EPA, E.D. Ky., No. 3:23-cv-00007, complaint filed 2/22/23; Kentucky Chamber of Commerce v. EPA, E.D. Ky., No. 3:23-cv-00008, complaint filed 2/22/23; and W. Virginia v. EPA, D.N.D., No. 3:23-cv-00032, complaint filed 2/16/23.

Ag Committee Holds Hearing on Farm Challenges; Geopolitical Unrest, Regulatory Uncertainty Cited

Featured, News, U.S.

Both The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) and the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) provided testimony at a Feb. 28 hearing before the House Committee on Agriculture on “Uncertainty, Inflation, Regulations: Challenges for American Agriculture.”

In his opening remarks, Committee Chairman Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) said the focus of the hearing was on the “headwinds facing production agriculture” as Congress prepares to write a new Farm Bill in 2023. Thompson noted a “modest production decline in recent years” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical unrest, and “incessant government intrusion.

“Over the last several years, I have traveled to more than 40 states and have heard firsthand from our farmers on issues related to labor, fuel, fertilizer, inflation, and interest rates,” Thompson said, noting that the average cost of diesel fuel jumped 95% between 2020 and 2022, while fertilizer prices increased 125% in 2021 and an additional 30% in the first five months of 2022.

“Urea, the most applied nitrogen fertilizer, increased 205% in price between 2020 and 2022,” he said. “Last week marked one year since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which perpetuates a disrupted global food system, resulting in continued increased energy prices, fertilizer cost spikes and shortages, and worsening food scarcities in developing countries. At the same time, American consumers are watching in dismay as their grocery and energy bills skyrocket.”

Thompson criticized the Biden Administration for ignoring these issues and neglecting farmers and consumers. “In fact, this administration continues to promote nonsensical regulations and policies that create needless uncertainty for farmers, ranchers, and working families, further limiting our ability to meet the growing food demands of our nation and the world,” he said.

TFI President and CEO Corey Rosenbusch focused much of his testimony on the fact that fertilizer is a globally traded commodity subject to international pressures. These include sanctions on Belarus, which supplies 20% of the world’s potash; restrictions imposed by China on fertilizer exports; and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which has historically provided 20% of global fertilizer and is the world’s largest fertilizer exporter.

“Domestic production of fertilizer accounts for only 7% of global production, and 90% of all fertilizer usage happens outside of the United States,” Rosenbusch said. “Geopolitical events have been the biggest disrupter to fertilizer markets in recent years.”

While acknowledging that Congress cannot control Russia and China, Rosenbusch outlined several areas where government policy could have a positive impact on agriculture and improve domestic production and supply.

“Regulatory certainty is perhaps the most significant area Congress could help,” he said. “Additionally, listing potash and phosphate as critical minerals, energy policy that supports an abundant and affordable supply of natural gas, permitting reform to streamline long delayed fertilizer projects, focusing on USDA conservation programs that empower agronomists and certified crop advisors to help farmers with nutrient management, and a focus on supply chain bottlenecks through improving rail service and promoting driver recruitment and retention.”

Michael Twining of Willard Agri-Service testified at the hearing on behalf of ARA, which also submitted written testimony. Twining, who serves on the ARA Board of Directors and as Vice Chair of the ARA Public Policy Committee, focused his comments on pesticide registration, energy, and the contentious “Waters of the United States” rule.

“We are grateful to the Committee for this opportunity to offer recommendations aligned with the current challenges facing the agricultural industry,” said ARA President and CEO Daren Coppock. “Hearing directly from an ag retailer like Mike will underscore the need for Congress and the Biden administration to remove regulatory barriers in an effort to boost our farm economies.”

Other witnesses at the hearing included Zippy Duvall, President of the American Farm Bureau Federation; Peter Friedmann, Executive Director of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition; Mike Brown, President of the National Chicken Council; and Rob Larew, President of the National Farmers Union.

OCP Revenues Off in 4Q, Up for Year

Earnings, Morocco, News

OCP Group SA reported a 6% fall in revenues to MAD25.04 billion (approximately $2.4 billion at current exchange rates) for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2022, down from MAD26.65 billion the previous year.

The group in a Feb. 28 earnings statement attributed the revenues performance to less favorable market conditions compared to the same period in 2021, which resulted in lower prices and a contraction of demand.

For the full-year 2022, however, revenues rose by 36% to MAD114.6 billion, up from the year-earlier MAD84.3 billion, boosted by higher average selling prices compared to 2021.

The group will report its full FY2022 results later this month.

European Commission Proposes Digital Labeling for EU Fertilizer Products

Europe, News, News Briefs

The European Commission has adopted a proposal on the voluntary digital labeling of European Union (EU) fertilizers, and suppliers of fertilizer products that meet EU-wide health, safety, and environmental standards (CE-marked) will be allowed to provide information on a digital label.

Digital labeling is already used in the EU for some products containing chemicals – for instance, batteries – and digital labeling rules are under consideration for certain other products, such as detergents and cosmetics.

Given that digital labeling will be voluntary, suppliers and retailers can choose how to provide the labeling information, i.e., a physical format, a digital format, or a combination of the two.

Products sold in packaging to farmers and other fertilizer consumers will continue to have the most important information on a physical label, such as safety for human health and the environment, in addition to the digital label.

The aim is to better inform product users, while at the same time simplifying labeling obligations for suppliers and to reduce costs.

The proposal has been sent to the European Parliament and the Council for approval. Once adopted, the new rules will be applied two-and-a-half years after their adoption in order to allow for technical rules to be decided upon.

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