The U.S. Commerce Department recently lowered the duties placed on phosphate fertilizers imported from Morocco. The National Corn Growers Association says this move gives true savings to farmers and access to critical inputs that have been scarce during the last couple of years. Commerce lowered the rates from 19.97 percent to 2.12 percent.
“Farmers were already facing rate hikes on inputs, and the duties were making the situation worse,” says NCGA President Harold Wolle. “This gives us more hope.”
Assuming Commerce finalizes those duty rates and imports resume, farmers could see a reduction in added costs of $7 per acre on imported fertilizer from Morocco. NCGA’s analysis says many factors and dynamics contribute to changes in fertilizer markets and prices, but the imposed duty rates undoubtedly had an impact on the prices paid by farmers.
“Our advocacy campaign to lower the duty rates wouldn’t have succeeded without our members,” Wolle says.