Something special
(July 10, 2002) The right choice of fertilizer used in more accurate doses can make a big difference to the price growers can get for their fruit and vegetables.
Fertilizer normally accounts for less than 5 percent of the input factors used by producers of cash crops, such as fruit and vegetables. This is considerably less than for most other agricultural products.
Slightly more expensive fertilizers can, however, raise the quality from one category to another, and hence increase value creation considerably.
”This is something most users of specialty fertilizer are aware of. The consumption of specialty fertilizer is also increasing more than the demand for most other types of fertilizer.
For example, the consumption of water soluble, liquid fertilizer for fertigation systems increases by around 6 percent a year,” explains Terje Knutsen, vice president in Hydro Agri Specialities.
Knutsen presents the fertilizer users’ pursuit of quality as the main reason for the increasing consumption of specialty fertilizer. Hydro Agri’s strategy includes growth in areas where the quality of its products plays a significant part in the financial success of end users, and where there is the will to pay for this result.
At present the greatest demand for specialty fertilizer and liquid fertilizer is from greenhouse producers and other high value segments in areas of the world with strong sun and limited access to water.
The correct application of plant nutrition through drip irrigation, growers of citrus fruits, bananas, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and similar products makes it possible to achieve good harvests even where the heat can be intense and there is little rain.
But knowledge of the nutrition balance needed for each crop, technical know-how on the application of nutrients and, not least, top quality fertilizer are needed for this to be successful.
Hydro Agri has a strong tradition within calcium nitrate technology and sales. ”Our expertise here functions as a spring board to a balanced portfolio within specialty fertilizer. We can now offer an advanced fertilizer system. This has particularly been bolstered through our cooperation with the Chilean company SQM. Together we are now the international market leaders in both calcium nitrate and potassium nitrate,” says Knutsen.
”We offer customers a broader range of products based on our aim to supply complete plant nutrition adapted to individual crops,” he explains.
The recently signed marketing agreement between SQM and Hydro covers the whole globe and allows the two companies to benefit from each other’s market apparatus.
On the basis of an extended cooperation agreement that was signed in November, the parties will set up a joint company in Europe, Nu3, for the production of soluble NPK fertilizer. Both SQM/Rotem and Hydro will transfer their existing mixing plant for NPK specialty fertilizer to this company.
”The close cooperation with SQM is another step towards offering complete solutions – the correct fertilizer concepts for fertilizer users – not just individual products. This means that together with our distributors, we will have a closer dialogue with the end users to find out how we can improve the quality and quantity of their products. Our expertise must cover knowledge of the market, agronomy and marketing,” says Terje Knutsen.
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