Mosaic Fertilizers begins monthly publication of the Fertilizer Purchasing Power Index

Mosaic Fertilizers, one of the largest global producers of combined phosphates and potassium, begins this month the monthly publication of the Fertilizer Purchasing Power Index (IPCF), which portrays fertilizer prices in line with the agricultural market. The action aims to relativize the input prices with the producer's income in general in Brazil, showing how accessible fertilizers are regardless of the absolute price.

In addition to presenting the current scenario, the company will also offer an analysis highlighting the main events of the period in the national and international commodity and fertilizer market, points of attention, crops with the best performance in the index and the main factor for price variation in the period . “We believe that with the transparency of information we reinforce our commitment to rural producers and help the market to develop in a healthy way”, comments Eduardo Monteiro, Commercial Vice President of Mosaic Fertilizers.

The IPCF consists of the relationship between a fertilizer price index and an agricultural commodity price index. A ratio less than 1,0 indicates that fertilizers are more affordable than in the same period in 2017, and a ratio greater than 1,00 means that fertilizers are less affordable compared to the same period.

The index takes into account the main Brazilian crops: soybeans, corn, sugar, ethanol and cotton.

In May, among the crops analyzed, those with the best index compared to the base scenario (average for the year 2017) were corn, followed by soybeans, due to excellent international prices. However, the biggest national appreciation (in dollars) was that of sugar cane, driven by sugar and ethanol. This result is due to drought forecasts for the coming months in most of the Brazilian producing regions, compromising the harvest potential.

During the period, the main highlight of the sector was the increase in fertilizer prices due to international supply and demand fundamentals, which culminated in a worsening of the index for farmers compared to the previous month. However, it is important to highlight that even in this condition, it still performs better than in the last three years, characterizing a great moment due to the international and domestic prices of the main agricultural commodities.

“The time for purchasing fertilizers is still favorable. We are approaching the planting of the summer crop with the challenge of supplying the largest grain harvest in history. The sooner the producer makes the purchase decision, the less risk he will have at the beginning of planting”, explains Monteiro.

The international prices of agricultural commodities at very good levels, due to the tighter supply and demand for grains, brings good times for commodities in Brazil, which has benefited from international demand, with an acceleration in exports and also greater domestic demand. With this scenario, the producer demands more inputs thinking about increasing productivity, causing prices to be regulated by supply and demand.

“It is important to understand the good moment of the producer in terms of capitalization and mainly profitability of the harvest, through this factor it will be possible to observe an increase and a greater willingness of the producer to invest in technology”, concludes the executive.