AUDIO: Ben Pratt – The Mosaic Company
The vice president of public affairs with The Mosaic Company says there’s growing concern about global phosphate fertilizer supplies.
“It’s a thing that farmers need to keep an eye on as they go through the season.”
Ben Pratt says ongoing disruptions to trade in the Strait of Hormuz have caused sulfur prices to nearly triple in the past year, resulting in production cutbacks amongst most phosphate fertilizer producers.
“There’s roughly 75 million tons of demand in the world, and the big producers and small producers all together usually make right about at that number.” He says, “So, any disruption on the supply side is significant and will be felt.”
He tells Brownfield that nearly 50% of the world’s sulfur, which is a key ingredient in the production of phosphate fertilizer, has been cut off from the market by the Strait’s closure.
“I’ve been at Mosaic for 15 years and I’ve never seen a situation where farmers were unhappy with the prices they’re paying, and the companies are unable to make money at those prices.” He says, “It’s a difficult situation all the way around.”
Pratt says the logjam of shipping vessels and the conflict’s impact on production facilities mean the challenges won’t be short-lived.
“It’s really hard to say exactly how bad that damage is, but it’s clear that it’s another thing where you can’t wave a magic wand and fix it overnight,” he says.
He says Mosaic is amongst the companies that have reduced production at facilities in the first half of the year due to the elevated cost of fertilizer inputs.
