Argus launches world's first prices for sustainable and specialty fertilizers

London, 14 October 2024

Global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus has launched the world’s first weekly prices for the diverse sustainable and specialty fertilizers markets, which include water-soluble fertilizers, secondary and micronutrients, low-carbon fertilizers, organics and organo-minerals.

The new service includes a unique Nutrient Calculator, which allows users to calculate the price of bespoke specialty fertilizer products, such as organic fertilizers, based on their component nutrients and other qualities. Alongside the weekly calculated and traditionally assessed prices, the service also offers news and market commentary on bio-stimulants and enhanced efficiency fertilizers.

Reducing carbon emissions is increasingly important for fertilizer producers – penalties for environmental damage or lack of sustainability, alongside incentives for improved carbon performance in markets around the world, have changed the industry’s priorities. As a result, companies have developed zero or low-carbon ammonia-based fertilizers and have raised their game in recycling, and in using waste and by-products that contain nutrients to increase the supply of organic and organo-mineral fertilizers.

The fertilizer sector is also trying to cut the carbon footprint of fertilizer application and improve the efficiency of nutrient use. This is driving demand for fertilizers containing secondary and micronutrients, water-soluble fertilizers and complementary products such as bio-stimulants. The new Argus service includes weekly prices and commentary on the water-soluble fertilizer market, which is growing much faster than traditional commodity fertilizer markets. The need to reduce N2O emissions from nitrogen application — which globally are even greater than the CO2 emissions from ammonia production — is also building demand for enhanced efficiency fertilizers.

Argus chairman and chief executive Adrian Binks said: “The market’s interest in sustainable and specialty fertilizers is growing very fast, because they can help decarbonise the fertilizer industry and agriculture more widely. Our new prices provide producers, consumers, traders and sustainability teams with price transparency for the first time. This will shine a light on how these developing markets work, make it easier for companies to manage their environmental footprints, and help them keep pace with evolving government policies. The Nutrient Calculator provides an additional valuable tool allowing buyers and sellers to compute indicative values for highly individualised products, especially in organics and organo-minerals.”