The health, social and economic effects of the coronavirus did not take long to be felt as soon as it appeared at the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020. However, there are still some traces of this pandemic that have not yet been felt and that will reach Chile in the coming months. We are talking about the global logistics and energy crisis, which threatens to increase fertilizer and food prices. In this scenario, Quipasur, which is supplied with local raw material, is positioned as the best alternative to acquire superior quality fertilizers at stable prices.

On the one hand, the "container crisis" began along with the pandemic and the quarantines. As a precaution against a decrease in demand and cross-border restrictions due to the coronavirus, shipping lines decided to anticipate and remove vessels from some of their less profitable routes.

Some time later, when China recovered its production level and the United States - along with much of the world - did the same with its demand for products, thanks to e-commerce, the prices of goods transportation skyrocketed. The result? A 500% increase in logistics prices, infrequent routes to less attractive markets and container shortages, delays in shipments due to congestion at major ports and, therefore, a crisis affecting companies that import their products or raw materials, such as fertilizer developers.

As if that were not enough, the "container crisis" is being compounded by the "fertilizer crisis" in Europe as a result of rising gas, electricity and oil prices. Unable to meet the costs of these tariffs, two major European fertilizer manufacturers have already announced production cuts and others are expected to follow.

Both crises, which raise the costs of products and raw materials imported into Chile to levels never seen before, are passed on to the customer in the form of higher prices. However, there are alternatives. Quipasur is one of them.

Federico Walker, Supply Chain Planning Manager, explains that the main products imported to Chile in the area of fertilizers are UAN 32 and urea. Quipasur, a company that is committed to innovation and efficiency, manufactures NPK blends, its main component being Ammonium Nitrate as a source of nitrogen, which besides being a more modern and technologically advanced alternative than those previously mentioned, will not have such a high cost due to the crises.

Walker explains that this is because Quipasur buys the main NPK element, nitrogen, locally as Ammonium Nitrate, and in anticipation of the global situation, it stocked up with a large inventory, so the price of its custom-made solutions will not vary as much as the imported ones, especially now that the season is starting. Therefore, Quipasur's customers will have a better quality, tailor-made product (unlike the UAN 32) and at a more competitive price than the alternatives.

"Now is the time for farmers to try new, world-leading fertilizers to take the next step in their business development," Walker said.