Fertilizer, plastic film and diesel all drop in price together; is the pesticide price increase meant to control usage?

According to data reported on June 6 by price monitoring agencies in major grain-producing areas of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, agricultural input prices fluctuated slightly while remaining stable in May. Among them, fertilizer and agricultural film prices fell slightly, pesticide prices rose slightly, and agricultural machinery fuel prices were lowered.

As the peak fertilizer-use season gradually came to an end, fertilizer prices in Inner Mongolia declined slightly in May. Among them, the average prices of ammonium bicarbonate, urea, diammonium phosphate, chlorine-based ternary compound fertilizer and sulfur-based ternary compound fertilizer (all domestically produced) were 0.70 yuan, 1.60 yuan, 2.80 yuan, 2.54 yuan and 2.47 yuan per kg respectively. Compared with April 2017 (month-on-month), the prices of ammonium bicarbonate, diammonium phosphate, chlorine-based ternary compound fertilizer and sulfur-based ternary compound fertilizer fell by 1.41%, 1.06%, 2.31% and 1.20% respectively, while the price of urea was flat; compared with May 2016 (year-on-year), the prices of ammonium bicarbonate and urea rose by 6.06% and 5.96% respectively, the prices of diammonium phosphate and sulfur-based ternary compound fertilizer fell by 2.78% and 1.59% respectively, and the price of chlorine-based ternary compound fertilizer was flat.

In May, the average prices of greenhouse film and plastic film were 12.67 yuan and 11.25 yuan per kg respectively. They fell by 0.47% and 0.97% month-on-month, and by 0.63% and 4.01% year-on-year respectively. On May 12, the retail prices of 0# diesel and -10# diesel were lowered to 5.86 yuan and 6.27 yuan per liter respectively, down 4.10% and 2.55% from before the price adjustment.

The only agricultural input that rose in price in May was pesticides, but even then only slightly. The average prices of avermectin, glyphosate isopropylamine salt and carbendazim were 6.50 yuan/100ml, 3.61 yuan/100ml and 3.23 yuan/100g respectively, up 1.25%, 0.56% and 1.57% month-on-month respectively; year-on-year, the prices of avermectin and carbendazim rose by 1.88% and 0.62% respectively, while the price of glyphosate isopropylamine salt fell by 8.61%.