Sales of fertilizers in Brazil fall 10% in first half

Sale of fertilizers in Brazil fell 9.6 percent in the first half of 2015, as demand from farmers dwindles in the face of high interest rates and lower prices for certain crops, the country's fertilizer association said on Tuesday.
 

The fall bucks the trend of recent years in which fertilizer sales hit consecutive record highs, buoyed by Brazil's booming agricultural industry.
 

Deliveries to final consumers were 11.71 million tonnes in the first six months of the year, compared with 12.95 million tonnes in the first half of 2014, the association known as Anda said.
 

The sales of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers were hit by lower demand from producers of corn, cotton, soybeans and sugar cane, according to Anda.
 

The fall in sales was also the result of higher prices for fertilizers caused by the stronger dollar.
 

The lower sales of fertilizers is a possible indication that areas planted in 2015/16 might not have as high a yield as in previous years.