January IPCF was 1.09

The Fertilizer Purchasing Power Index (IPCF) for January 2025 closed at 1.09, a 4% increase compared to December 2024. Despite a recovery in the price of some commodities, the increase in the average price of fertilizers contributed to this month's result.

The second corn crop is expected to show an increase in the planted area compared to the previous harvest and, with the end of the second corn planting window approaching, it is important for rural producers to plan ahead to make decisions about purchasing their inputs. Given the challenging global geopolitical scenarios, good planning is essential, taking advantage of purchasing opportunities, in addition to avoiding logistical backlogs in fertilizer deliveries and receiving the input at the ideal time for application.

During the period, fertilizers showed an average increase of approximately 3%, driven by the rise in urea, followed by potassium chloride (KCl) and single superphosphate (SSP). An average increase of 0.3% was also recorded in the commodities considered for the index. This stable scenario in commodity prices is the result of two different situations: a 2% drop in the price of soybeans due to pressure caused by the expectation of a record harvest in Brazil; and a 2% increase in the price of corn resulting from the growing demand in the domestic market and crop failures in the south of the country, in Argentina and Paraguay. Sugarcane and cotton also showed increases of approximately 1.7% and 2%, respectively. 

The market is now keeping an eye on the pace of harvesting in Brazil and its possible impacts on the second-crop corn planting window. Attention is also turning to the expected crop failures in Rio Grande do Sul, Argentina and Paraguay. In addition, with planning for the next summer harvest, including phosphate products, it is worth highlighting the issue of product quality and solubility, where we have observed the import of low-solubility phosphate products, which producers should be aware of the quality of the products being offered.