Section: CRUFI Market & Features

Market Insight courtesy of Argus Media

Boron is a key micronutrient required by fruit and vegetables and crops such as corn, cotton, rice, soybean and sugar cane. The agricultural importance of boron and the wide range of products on the market are described.

In an exclusive, broad ranging interview, Wendall Boehlje, technical sales agronomist at U.S. Borax (part of Rio Tinto), talks to Fertilizer International about the launch of two new agricultural market products by U.S. Borax earlier this year.

Buss ChemTech AG offers the international phosphate industry a robust solution to create added-value products from fluorosilicic acid (FSA). Thomas Dahlke, the head of the company’s process engineering department, and Emre Sen, sales manager for fluorine technologies, explain how this can be done in a sustainable manner.

Ammonia and sulphur, as essential raw materials, underpin and drive fertilizer production costs. A steep and sustained rally has seen prices for both commodities reach new heights in recent months.

The delivery of nitrogen in nitrate form can deliver superior yields and quality in arable, fruit and vegetable crops. Because of this, production and consumption of the principal nitrate fertilizers – ammonium nitrate (AN), calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN), urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), potassium nitrate (NOP) and calcium nitrate (CN) – continue to grow.

Potassium nitrate is an efficient speciality fertilizer, being able to produce more for less. Whether applied to soils, via fertigation or through foliar application, it improves water use efficiency while boosting the uptake of potassium and other nutrients. Katja Hora and Harmen Tjalling Holwerda of SQM International highlight the main advantages of supplying potassium nitrate to crops.

A holistic understanding of the phosphate milling process is necessary, says Ian Hancock of Bradley Pulverizer. This ensures maximum plant uptime, the highest process efficiencies, and ultimately guarantees profitability.

Market Insight courtesy of Argus Media

One year on from the launch of its Farm to Fork Strategy, the European Commission is still failing Europe’s farmers, says Igor Shmidt, EuroChem Group’s head of public affairs.