Glyphosate Revisited
12 February 2008 As we reported last week from India, the general feeling in the crop protection industry is that 2008 will be a year of shortage.
This is a situation unlike one that we have seen for quite some time, particularly for glyphosate, which all of a sudden is in a position of rising prices – the opposite of what we had seen since the product first went off patent.
Between China’s slipping ag chem production (at least until the Olympics are over, but very possibly longer) and the rapidly increasing areas of soybeans and corn in the Americas, where the vast majority of the crops are Roundup Ready, the demand is certain to be strong for a shorter supply. The high prices that farmers are getting for their crops make it unlikely many will skimp on inputs.
This adds up to a renewed market for glyphosate, and much stronger prices for the product that has spent the last several years dwindling in price. The question is now whether the ag chem industry will be able to step up and meet the demand — and at what price.
Get The Newsletter Today!
