The average retail price of anhydrous set a record last week at $1,113/ton after increasing 38% from last month. The seven other major fertilizers tracked by DTN for the first week of November saw increases ranging from 9% to 36%.

Josh Linville is Director of Fertilizer for StoneX and says the perfect supply chain storm has hit the fertilizer market, including global supply disruptions, China’s ban on urea and phosphate plus high natural gas prices.

Linville says the other factor driving up price is logistics, including damage in the gulf due to Hurricane Ida slowed the movement of fertilizer on barge up the river.

He says the situation is different than when fertilizer prices spiked in 2008 and so farmers need to get their inventory lined up for spring as soon as possible.

Linville says while the U.S. gets most of its nitrogen fertilizer from the Arab Gulf the fertilizer market is global and interconnected.