Africa’s most populous country has turned to Canada for its potash needs – a key raw material input for fertilizer production, as the war in the black sea region trapped four Nigerian inbound vessels from Russia.
Nigeria imports 34 percent of the raw materials – potash, phosphate, and granular ammonium, needed to produce a critical type of fertiliser called NPK, which is used by millions of smallholder farmers. It gets all its potash from Russia.
“We are working with NSIA and we have been able to find alternative places for potash. Canada has agreed to give us some quantity and the Georgians have also agreed to give us some quantity as well,” said Gideon Negedu, executive secretary of Fertilizers Producers Suppliers Association of Nigeria, said in a response to questions.
“This potash from both countries will come into the country before the end of May,” he said.
Read also:Trapped vessels put Nigeria’s fertiliser production at risk
Nigeria is also looking at other countries for more supply of potash, as the volume from Russia wouldn’t be enough for the wet season farming.
“They (the government) are going all over the world looking at the spot market, and I am hearing they may be able to get something from Canada,” an industry source who does not want to be mentioned, said talks were still private.
But there will be stiff competition from other countries also looking to import potash, according to the source. “Everybody is looking for this (potash), and some people are better endowed than others,” he added.
Russia is among the world’s top three producers of potash and Nigeria is one of its importers.
Nigeria entered into a potash agreement with Russia last year, but the sanctions placed by the US and the West on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have left four out of five vessels ordered by the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) trapped in the region.
The world is currently facing a huge supply shock as the crisis cuts off shipments from the Black Sea region that accounts for a quarter of global wheat trade and at least 12 percent of food calories traded.
This has sent raw materials for various fertilizer blends to their highest since the 2008 global financial crisis.
Locally, the average price of a 50kg bag of NPK, a critical type of fertiliser mainly used by smallholder farmers, has surged by 181.3 percent to N22,500 from N8,000 last year, according to BusinessDay findings.
The price of a 50kg bag of urea fertiliser has also jumped by as much as 183 percent to an average of N17,000 from N6,000 last year.
In 2021, the country imported 175,133 metric tonnes (MT) of potash from Russia, 292,158 MT of phosphate from Morocco and 238,158 MT of ammonium sulphate from China, according to data from the International Fertilizer Development Centre.
Farmers in Africa’s biggest economy who are already facing surging prices for fertiliser, animal feed, pesticides, seeds, and seedlings, coupled with the worsening insecurity in the country and rising diesel prices that have shut transportation costs, have warned that prices of food will further spike in the following months.
“Nigerians should be prepared for another surge in food prices on rising fertiliser and diesel costs,” said Ibrahim Kabiru, former national president of All Farmers Association of Nigeria.
A surge in food prices will pile more pressure on Nigerians who are already contending with rising inflation amid a nearly three-fold jump in energy costs. In March, the National Bureau of Statistics reported that inflation hit 15.9 percent. Food inflation stood at 17.2 percent, with analysts expecting more acceleration in April as the surge in energy costs becomes more reflective.
