Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Fertilizers
Name: Purti Nevgi
Roll no: AO 73
Introduction
Fertilizers are soil amendments applied to promote plant growth; the main nutrients present
in fertilizer are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (the 'macronutrients') and other nutrients
('micronutrients') are added in smaller amounts. Fertilizers are usually directly applied to soil,
and also sprayed on leaves.
Fertilizers are roughly broken up between organic and inorganic fertilizer, with the main
difference between the two being sourcing, and not necessarily differences in nutrient
content.
Type of Fertilizer
Fertilizers come in various shapes and forms. The most typical form is granular fertilizer
(powder form), usually come in a bag / box. The next most common form is liquid fertilizer;
some advantages of liquid lawn fertilizer are its immediate effect and wide coverage.
Moreover, there is also a form of slow-release fertilizer which solves the problem of
"burning" the plants due to excessive nutrients. This kind of fertilizer comes in various forms
like fertilizer spikes, tabs, etc. Finally, organic fertilizer is on the rise as people are resorting
to green / environmental friendly products. Although organic fertilizer usually contains fewer
nutrients, some people still prefer organic due to natural ingredients.
Prices of fertilizers
Fertilizer prices for the entire country are set by the government agencies. Table 10 shows the
official price of fertilizers during the period 1995 to 1999.
Although the official price of fertilizers did not change, the exchange rate of the Syrian
Pound (SL) did change, especially the Government free rate (Table 11).
Information on fertilizer prices in the parallel market is limited and sketchy, with estimated
figures ranging from 10 percent to 15 percent above official prices. One of the most
important factors affecting the parallel market price is rainfall. With higher rainfall, farmers’
demand for fertilizer increases. For example, during exceptionally good years, it is possible
for the market price to be 50 percent higher than official prices. In contrast, the margin
between market and official prices can be less than 5 percent in dry years. Farmers may
reduce their fertilizer use if they face two consecutive dry years, and very few of them then
buy additional fertilizer from the parallel market.
Table 10
Official fertilizer prices, 1995 to 1999, (Syrian pounds*)
Table 11
Exchange rates of the Syrian pound (SL per US$).
Another important determinant of the quantity of fertilizer demanded from the parallel market
is fertilizer availability from official channels. Since demand on this market represents
aggregate excess demand, any increase in fertilizer availability that reduces fertilizer
shortages at the farm level reduces demand in the parallel market. Lastly, increases in
agricultural product prices (official or market prices) also increase farmers’ demand for
fertilizers.
The Government has created a number of wholesale agencies, which buy directly from
farmers or cooperatives, and sell to retailers or industrial users. Table 12 summarizes the
average prices paid to farmers by Government marketing agencies.
Fruits, vegetables, dry broad beans, livestock, poultry, and animal products are the main
products on the wholesale free market in the Syrian Arab Republic. Table 13 gives the
wholesale prices of major agricultural products, from 1994 to 1998.
Phosphorous
Phosphorus fertilizer comes from phosphate rock
• 142 million tons was mined worldwide in 2006
• Phosphate deposits are concentrated in the United States (FL), China, Morocco and Russia
• Due to the soaring demand for phosphorus fertilizer, the price of one ton of diammonium
phosphate (a fertilizer that also contains nitrogen) "jumped to $1,102 a ton from $393 a ton in
the last year"
Potash
Global demand for potash stood at around 60 million tons a year and was growing at around
3 percent a year as more farmland is diverted away from food production to growing crops
for energy
Phosphorus
Potassium