Fertiliser prices appear to be falling just as quickly as they soared last year.
Both farmer-owned fertiliser co-operatives last week lowered their prices and seem intent on claiming the credit for doing so.
Ballance yesterday matched a move by Ravensdown, which earlier in the week announced a $33 a tonne reduction in the price of superphosphate, a week after Ballance lowered its fertiliser prices by up to 31%.
Ballance chief executive Larry Bilodeau said yesterday both companies now had similar prices.
This week's movement was the fourth reduction in nine weeks and took superphosphate to about $396 a tonne, well off its peak last September at $560 a tonne but still ahead of its February 2007 price of $193 a tonne.
The price reduction comes despite a falling New Zealand dollar and Ravensdown said it would be funded by its "excess foreign currency hedging."
Ravensdown chairman Bill McLeod said in a statement the new price was backdated to January 30 and would help farmers boost autumn grass growth.
"Lessons learnt from the mid-1980s farming crisis include the danger of not applying maintenance fertiliser," he said.
With superphosphate the most commonly used fertiliser, Mr McLeod estimated the lower prices would save farmers $8 million.
Mr Bilodeau said the savings for farmers from three months of falling prices would be about $500 million.
