Conveagro: price of food in Peru would rise 35% this summer due to fertilizer crisis

The National Convention of Peruvian Agro (Conveagro) estimated that the price of food in Peru could skyrocket between 30% and 35% in the next three or four months, because the international cost of fertilizers, currently with an increase of 200% and 250%, is on the way to new 300% peaks.

In a report collected by the Agraria.pe portal, the head of Conveagro, Clímaco Cárdenas, explained that, usually, the price of urea was at US $ 400 or US $ 430 per ton, but today it is above US $ 1,000.

“By having a smaller offer of products, an increase in the price of the final product will immediately be generated. Before it was estimated that this price increase would be between 30% and 35% depending on the crop and its nature of how these fertilizers are used, but now that the price of fertilizers has increased above 200% and 250%, probably the price of food rises more than estimated ”, he said.

As a domino effect, farmers will not be able to fertilize their fields in the necessary amount and will have lower product yields, which will translate into a lower supply of products such as rice, corn, cotton, potatoes and vegetables.

Initially, Conveagro estimates that 2.2 million agricultural families were affected, but later it will affect the entire population, “mainly the most disadvantaged people in the country.”

International fertilizer crisis

Cárdenas explained that the price of fertilizers increased because synthetic fertilizers are derived from fuels (oil), whose value has increased.

Added to this is the increase in the price of the dollar since the two leading countries in the production of fertilizers – mainly urea – worldwide such as Russia (which represents 75% of Peruvian imports) and China (20% of imports) they closed their exports because they are prioritizing their national production and with it the feeding of their population, which according to what they said does not happen in Peru.

“We do not have a decisive State that understands and recognizes the urgency of the problem. We are asking the Government to accept fertilizers (urea), within the stabilization fund that fuels have and with them allow producers to breathe with a floor price of S / 100 a bag of urea, which previously cost S / 63 but we are going to assume an increase, the difference up due to international fluctuations, that the State assumes, “he said.