Story by Tendai Munengwa
THE price of fertiliser has gone down by 16 percent in a move attributed to the government’s import duty-free policy meant to boost production.
The price of fertiliser, which had skyrocketed to US$ 69 last year owing to geopolitical tensions in Russia and Ukraine, the biggest suppliers of raw materials for top dressing fertiliser, has gone down.
A visit to one of the biggest retail agro-dealers revealed that the price of basal, compound C and top dressing fertiliser has gone down by 16 percent.
The spokesperson for one producer of fertiliser, FSG, Mr Ngoni Kandeya confirmed the development attributing it to the import duty-free policy.
“The prices are coming down. We have basal going down to US$ 38 from US$ 45 compound C from US$ 55 toUS$ 45 and top dressing coming down from US$ 65 to US$ 56, this is on average a 16 percent decline. We hope with all things being equal the price will normalize and allow farmers to be viable,” he said.
While farmers are excited about the reduction in the price of fertiliser, they are expecting another downward review to offset production costs.
“Yes the prices are coming down, but we want them to drop to what we used to buy the fertiliser which is US$ 27 and US$ 32,” said one farmer.
The government has introduced the import duty-free policy for companies and individuals with the capacity to import 250 000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate to cushion farmers and ensure the availability of the commodity.
