By LIAM DANN
The rising dollar isn't all bad news for farmers.
New Zealand's two largest fertiliser companies - Ballance Agri-Nutrients and Ravensdown - have announced large, dollar-driven price decreases.
The move will save the nation's farmers more than $40 million.
Kevin Wooding, chairman of Dairy Farmers of New Zealand, said the cuts
were fantastic news and would help farmers cope with lower returns due to the soaring dollar.
"We would encourage other companies to follow this example," Wooding said. "Manufacturers which benefit from a stronger currency should pass those benefits on to their customers."
Fertiliser is one of the biggest costs farmers face. Annual spending can range from about $10,000 for smaller farms to more than $100,000 for the largest.
Ballance chief executive Larry Bilodeau said these savings would make a major contribution to farm profitability.
The cuts range from 9.2 per cent for potash to 1.8 per cent for urea.
The urea price reduction was the smallest because international prices have risen dramatically this year.
The dollar and good business practices were helping to offset price rises for a number of fertiliser ingredients, said Bilodeau.
These reductions effectively lowered the cost of fertiliser to levels not experienced since 1999.
Statistics New Zealand figures show farm input costs have fallen across the board in each of the past three quarters. They fell by 0.4 per cent in the September quarter and by 2.4 per cent in the year to September.
