High fertilizer prices contribute to rising global food security concerns

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dc.creatorHebebrand, Charlotte
dc.creatorLaborde Debucquet, David
dc.date2023-07-11
dc.date2024-03-14T12:08:54Z
dc.date2024-03-14T12:08:54Z
dc.date.accessioned2026-06-27T15:42:30Z
dc.descriptionLike people, plants need a multitude of nutrients to thrive. These are categorized into micronutrients, such as zinc and iron; secondary macronutrients, such as calcium and magnesium; and three primary macronutrients: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). Mineral fertilizers provide higher and more plant-accessible nutrients, while organic minerals importantly also provide carbon, which contributes to healthy soils. While efforts to reduce nutrient losses to the environment must be continued and stepped up, it bears emphasizing that fertilizers play a crucial role in agricultural productivity. World market prices for both food and fertilizer (here we focus only on N, P, and K) increased significantly over the past year and a half and have climbed to even higher levels following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, hitting their highest levels yet in March (see Figure 1, +125% from January 2021 to January 2022, +17% from January 2022 to March 2022). While there is an immediate concern about the impact of high food prices on food security, especially in low and middle-income countries, fertilizer price spikes and concerns about availability cast a shadow on future harvests, and thus risk keeping food prices high for a longer period. In this blog post — which draws on data from the new IFPRI fertilizer dashboard; IFASTAT, compiled by the International Fertilizer Association (IFA); and FAOSTAT — we discuss the underlying drivers of current high pric es, explain why the global fertilizer market is particularly susceptible to shocks, and examine which countries are most vulnerable to fertilizer market disruptions. A subsequent post will explore short- and medium-term solutions to address the serious affordability and availability concerns.
dc.formatapplication/pdf
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/140084
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/112380
dc.languageen
dc.publisherInternational Food Policy Research Institute
dc.relationhttps://doi.org/10.2499/9780896294394
dc.relationhttps://www.ifpri.org/blog/high-fertilizer-prices-contribute-rising-global-food-security-concerns
dc.rightsOpen Access
dc.sourceHebebrand, Charlotte; and Laborde Debucquet, David. 2023. High fertilizer prices contribute to rising global food security concerns. In The Russia-Ukraine Conflict and Global Food Security, eds. Joseph Glauber and David Laborde Debucquet. Section One: A Conflict with Global Consequences, Chapter 7, Pp. 38-42. https://doi.org/10.2499/9780896294394_07.
dc.subjectfertilizers
dc.subjectshock
dc.subjectpolicies
dc.subjectwar
dc.subjectcoronavirus
dc.subjectcovid-19
dc.subjectagriculture
dc.subjectmarkets
dc.subjecttrade
dc.subjectcoronavirinae
dc.subjecttrace elements
dc.subjectrussia
dc.subjectsoil quality
dc.subjectfood security
dc.subjectukraine
dc.subjectconflicts
dc.subjectagricultural productivity
dc.subjectcoronavirus disease
dc.subjectprices
dc.subjectclimate change
dc.titleHigh fertilizer prices contribute to rising global food security concerns
dc.typeBook Chapter

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Instituto Internacional de Investigación sobre Políticas Alimentarias (IFPRI)