The price of agricultural fertilizer in Iran doubled on the eve of the planting season; 18 times more expensive in two years.
The sharp increase in the price of urea fertilizer in Iran, this time more than twice the rate of July, caused a new wave of interception and concern among farmers.
This increase in price occurred on the eve of the winter planting season, and a number of union activists and even related parties warned of its consequences for the production of agricultural products and food security.
Although professional unions and activists in the field have been reporting the shortage of agricultural fertilizer and its price increase for months, this price increase has entered a new phase in recent days.
Reports in the Iranian media indicate that the price of each 50 kg bag of urea fertilizer rose from about 195 thousand tomans in 1403 to 3 million 500 thousand tomans, which is an increase of almost 18 times. According to Bahman Darikundi, head of the Dezpol branch of the agricultural guilds, this price increase occurred in a situation where the price of each bag of urea fertilizer in July of this year also increased by more than 125%, from 687 thousand 695 tomans to 1 million 552 thousand 477 tomans.
The importance of the price of urea fertilizer in agriculture is important because this product is one of the most important sources of nitrogen supply needed by crops and plays an important role in the production of crops such as wheat, barley and rice. For this reason, changes in the price of this input can directly affect the overall cost of producing agricultural produce.
In the past, the Agricultural Support Services Company provided the required fertilizer to farmers according to price and at a 10-30% discount, and on the other hand, the import of the fertilizer or the raw materials for its production also had a preferred currency, but under war conditions and subsequent economic pressures, both types of support were removed.
Read the full version of this report on Radio Perda's website.