This picture shows a trial that started in August of the TFM product being tested against other organic fertilizer products for Chillies.
The trial is being conducted in Mozambique for one of the largest retail restaurant chains on the African continent. So far, our fertilizer has outperformed all other organic fertilizer products on the trial and we look forward to sharing more results in future editions of our newsletter.
August and September specials now on!
In an effort to further help our farmers and our local communities, we are running a special on our products all through August and September.
Our aim by doing so is to further reduce input costs and help farmers and local communities save their soil for future generations. During the months of August and September, we offer significant discount on full load orders. The discount rate is based on the volume ordered and will be supplied on request.
Upcoming Event
The TFM team will be joining Agri-Gauteng at the Lavender Kontrei Mark from 22 till 24 September 2022.
Feel free to drop by and have a chat with us about how we can help you save your soil!
TFM at the Agri-Gauteng Young Farmer of Year and Conference 2022.
This past month, the TFM team had the honour of attending the 2022 Agri-Gauteng Young Farmer of the Year and Conference held at Cullinan Diamond Lodge. TFM is a Platinum sponsor for Agri-Gauteng and we are committed to helping our farmers and young farmers to understand the importance of having healthy soils for sustainable farming.
We would like to thank the TFM team for all their hard work and dedication that went into this event, as well as Agri-Gauteng for all the hard work they did to ensure this congress was an absolute success!
Industry news
Impact of the loss of Russian fertilizers to South Africa
South Africa imports between 70 to 75% of its fertilizer needs, some of that from Russia – how it will be affected by the Russian war is a source of concern to South African farmers. In 2020 South Africa imported 11.3% of its fertilizer needs from Russia, third-most behind Saudi Arabia and China, with marginal fertilizer imports from Ukraine and Belarus.
Many producers have told FreshPlaza that their fertilizer costs have doubled, sometimes just over the past six months - along with close to every other production input on the farm.
While the uncertainty around getting payments from Russian clients is a major source of concern to South African growers, a seed producer says that the imperilled availability of fertilizer from Russia and Ukraine is a much greater cause of concern to them. “Those countries provide 30% of international fertilizer. Our input costs are already through the roof – we don’t need another shock.”
Photos supplied by FERTASA
Russia already restricted urea exports last December According to the Fertilizer Association of South Africa (FERTASA), South Africa uses 2 million tonnes of fertilizer a year representing only about 1% of global fertilizer use, of which on average 150,000 tonnes of monoammonium phosphate and 50,000 tonnes of urea (nitrogen) is imported annually from Russia. However, Dr Pieter Haumann, the CEO of the Fertiliser Association of South Africa (FERTASA) says that an end to fertilizer imports from Russia is an inconvenience at most, and finding new suppliers is in fact logical, given current shipping rates and Russia’s immense distance from South Africa.
And in fact, Russia had suspended urea exports from 1 December 2021 until end of May 2022 to safeguard their own supply, so the country would not have been exporting urea at the moment in any case. There are plentiful alternative sources of fertilizer located much closer to South African than Russia, he says, primarily from oil-producing countries in the Middle East for urea (nitrogen) and Morocco, China and Saudi Arabia for phosphates. All of South Africa’s potassium is imported from a variety of countries like Chile, Canada and Germany where it mined in a simpler process than nitrogen and phosphate production.
“Fertilizer is so incredibly expensive at the moment, so the closer the better,” he notes. “There are far bigger fertilizer-producing countries than Russia.”
South Africa produces very high-grade MAP South Africa produces much of its own monoammonium phosphate or MAP, with the balance imported. “Of course, South Africa produces some of the best MAP in the world. Our source of phosphate, apatite found near Phalaborwa in Limpopo, is among the purest in the world, a geological anomaly associated with copper and magnetite. South Africa’s phosphate source is of volcanic origin with almost no radioactive elements. Foskor has the capacity to produce around 300,000 tonnes a year and if they can do that, it’s more than enough for South Africa’s needs.“
Fertilizer prices follow high oil prices The Covid-induced reduction in the oil price and consequent decrease in oil production, which meant less sulphur and urea were available for fertilizer production, strongly driving up the price. Fertilizer prices closely follow oil prices and are at unprecedentedly high levels, further driven up by the rise in fuel and transport costs. “It is very expensive to produce fertilizer," Dr Haumann remarks. "Fertilizer import prices are based on import parity, which is why it is so expensive, and then there is further handling and transport costs.” He remarks that the civil unrest of July 2021 badly affected the flow of imported fertilizers within South Africa. Source: Loss of Russian fertilizers is a mere inconvenience to South Africa (hortidaily.com)
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