The monthly averages for fertilizer prices depicted in the graph from IFDC actually hide the fact that there had been even bigger spikes for some fertilizers recently. But, in general, the situation is similar to that in rice:

• Rising raw material costs
• Tight supply-demand balances due to rising demands
• High freight costs and even bottlenecks in shipping capacities
• Some disasters (plants/mines shut down)
• Perhaps some speculation here and there

We can expect fertilizer prices to remain high for a while, perhaps the next 2-3 years until new production capacities have come online. This is a good time for site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) and research that seeks to improve P utilization. World phosphate reserves will be used up in 100-300 years time and there is no real substitute known yet, except for getting more back from the soils in which it has accumulated.

Download graph of fertilizer prices (Powerpoint format).  

Read the full article at Eurekalert.com