Mishma Chakanyuka, Staff Writer 
CFI Holdings (CFI) says fertiliser sales were constrained by the commodity’s high prices during the ongoing 2022–2023 agricultural season.
The country saw a spike in commodity prices, with farmers lamenting the rising costs as a 50kg bag of top-dressing fertiliser surged by 33 percent to US$60 from US$45 in the previous season, while the price of basal fertiliser also increased by almost 50 percent to between US$35-45 per 50kg from around US$25-30 last season.
“During the period, sales volumes for the retail division’s key revenue drivers, other than fertiliser, increased by nine percent relative to the prior year. However, fertiliser sales were constrained by the commodity’s significant real price increases following the war in Ukraine, which disrupted global supply chains. This was further exacerbated by the depressed producer prices for tobacco and maize coming into the current season,” the group said in a trading update for the first quarter that ended December 31, 2022.
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