8 Fertilizer Stocks Primed for Growth
As we enter the spring planting season, several fertilizer and agricultural chemicals stocks could be worth a look as analysts are upbeat on this historically volatile industry because the government says farmers will plant more corn than in the past 75 years.
Fertilizer prices generally track crop prices, but they fluctuate with world food demand and weather patterns, among other things. That means there are lots of wildcards in this industry, but one of the greatest is how much corn China will import this year as it is the world's largest consumer. So far, the outlook is for much more than last year.
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And corn prices have already been at a cyclical high for the past few years, in part due to its use in ethanol and rising demand from Asia. What's more, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said that, as of March 1, corn supplies nationally were down about 8% from a year ago.
All those factors set up a scenario for ever-higher prices for corn, which is used in everything from fuel and animal feed to syrup for soda.