Big fertiliser company Ballance Agri-Nutrients says it has cut the price of its main nitrogen product, urea, by 17 percent to $910 a tonne as global prices tumble.
The saving of $190/tonne is rooted in the falling international prices for oil and gas. "We had signalled that we would review our fertiliser prices on December 1, but urea prices have fallen quickly around the world and we are cutting our price now," said Ballance chief executive Larry Bilodeau.
He said the company was leading the market down, "even though we are still sitting on a lot of imported urea bought at high prices".
The new urea price will be reduced further as the company works through its inventory.
Prices for phosphate-based fertiliser were also under review.
Ballance is New Zealand's sole urea manufacturer, but its Kapuni operation is shut down for all of November for its three-yearly upgrade, costing the farmer-owned co-operative more than $22 million. It had to import urea stock at higher prices to cover the shutdown.
