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Nutrien says tariffs could raise chemical costs

The CEO of one of the world’s largest crop input companies is bullish on the farm economy in 2019 despite trade uncertainty.

Chuck Magro with Nutrien Ag Solutions tells Brownfield if the U.S. and China can come to a trade agreement, crop prices will should, “Even with these large yields and monster crops that we’ve had here and in Brazil for the last three or four years, the world is not flush with food.”

But, he says if tariffs continue, farmers could start to see rising input costs, “About 30 percent of fungicides, insecticides and herbicides come from China and today there’s already a 10 percent tariff on those products. If that goes to a 25 percent tariffs, somebody will need to bear that cost.”

For now he says increasing tariffs have been delayed, but the trade situation has put a cloud around crop pricing and demand for inputs.

He adds the wet end to harvest put field activities behind schedule in some regions and a late spring could put additional pressure on input providers.