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Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

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Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'

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Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
FinanceInflation

Fertilizer shortage means food prices are about to get even higher

By
Chris Morris
Chris Morris
Former Contributing Writer
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By
Chris Morris
Chris Morris
Former Contributing Writer
Down Arrow Button Icon
November 3, 2021, 12:00 PM ET

Food prices are already up more than 30% around the world this year, but a rising crisis in the fertilizer industry all but guarantees they’re about to go even higher—and take food prices along for the ride.

Fertilizer plants in Europe have cut back production, and China is cutting exports to focus on its own agricultural industry. Add in shipping problems and inflation, and U.S. farmers are having a hard time getting their hands on the critical supply, much less pay the higher costs for it.

Synthetic fertilizers are an essential part of modern farming. Bloomberg points out that without nitrogen fertilizers, the global population today might be just half of current totals, due to how much those fertilizers have increased crop yields.

And since fertilizer is so widely used, the shortages could result in substantial price increases on items ranging from coffee to corn to rice.

Nutrien and Mosaic, two of the world’s top fertilizer producers, say they expect prices to continue to rise, as the costs of components used to make nitrogen fertilizer are hitting 13-year highs as well. That’s sending crop future prices higher. Corn is up 10% since the middle of last month, and wheat is at its highest level since 2012.

Food prices in the U.S. have been rising at a staggering rate across the board this year. Bacon and pork ribs cost nearly 20% more than a year ago, and eggs are 13% higher.

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About the Author
By Chris MorrisFormer Contributing Writer

Chris Morris is a former contributing writer at Fortune, covering everything from general business news to the video game and theme park industries.

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