Chocolait Bars and Fertilizer

[bgmb]

Pre buy NH3 is looking like it will be
48 cents per lb in the socialist republic of Manitoba.
Compared to the ND pre buy price of 38 cents per lb.

I saw a story on the CBC news last night about how the competition bureau is looking into the "big 4" confectionery chocolate companies inflating the price of chocolate bars. Wow...

Sure would be nice if the CB would do something useful with their time instead of trying to save me 10 cents on a chocolait bar how about that 10 cents on my N!!!! mindboggling

I think we should find out

[bgmb]

http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2007/11/28/chocolate-investigation.html
Story on the Canadian Chocolate Cartel

[SASKFARMER3]

That price difference is over 40000 on our farm from ND to Saskatchewan.
When is enough enough.

[sawfly]

what the socialist govt. of manitoba has to do with the price of N is a mystery.
trade is a federal responsibility and we have Mr. harper and a conservitive govt.
Surely we can count on them to open the borders to fert. and chemical and fix this flaw in a otherwise perfect free enterprize system.

[Kodiak]

Before the forced collectivists like Wilagro and Agstar respond with their “this is the open market at work - don’t you just love it” comments, they ought to think a bit deeper. Both monopolies and open markets have their warts. Where the open market wins hands down, is exemplified right here. Its transparent, we can shine a light on it, and the warts are revealed. In a matter of time, the problem can and will be fixed. In the case of monopolies, particularly government ones like the CWB, there is no transparency, no light can get through the shrouds of secrecy, and the size and ugliness of the warts are hidden from view.

This fertilizer situation is not pretty, but it will be fixed. Maybe not this year, but it will happen. It will happen even if the Competition Bureau does nothing. The marketplace will respond with increased production, curing the present shortages. It always has. Politicians may address it sooner than new plants can be built. Perhaps they will prod the Competition Bureau into an investigation.

Keep shining the light on this, and it will be fixed. Contrast that to the wheat and barley situation in the prairies.

[bgmb]

Kodiak

I hope you're right, I too like to think the open market will work itself out so that all levels of the fertilizer supply chain can make money, from manufacturing to transport to retailers to farmers.

A few shiploads of cheap russian UREA would fix the problem pretty quick!

The problem may be that there are few sellers of fertilizer and they are colluding to keep the Canadian prices up. I think this is clearly an area where the government meeds to step in and fix the industry so prices are fair to everyone.

But don't let gary doer hear that next thing you know wowchuck and the gang will be funding some group that is pushing for a single desk in fertilizer selling.

[bgmb]

Sawfly

I just like making sarcastic comments about the NDP...

[TOM4CWB]

bgmb,

Talking about cartels... at Informa today there was a very interesting presentation on Ocean Freight concentration in ownership!

In 1995 the top 20 shippers controlled 44.4% of the market. By 2000 that had increased to 59.3%, and by 2005 to 70.5% concentration.

There are no anti-competition laws in the global shipping market... and companies like Cosco that own massive tracts of the assets are actually government owned(China).

The world has globalised... WTO is more or less trumped by the "real world" practice of Multi-national and sovereign powers alike!

Trillion Dollar entities make up the rules as they go...

WTO is a side diversion to draw attention away the reality...

That $500 Trillion of liquidity... is a world and reality that lives and breaths...

Few "ordinary" or "normal" people actually realise what kind of an organism they actually live in!

[wmoebis]

What if everyone quit buying fertilizer. Wouldn't the price drop?

Production would go down forcing short supply and the price of grain would go up.

End result: We would get same returns for less production and inputs.

[parsley]

I think I've heard that somewhere before

[bgmb]

wmoebis

And millions would starve to death........ that doesn't sound like the answer to me.

[Burbert]

AAAA, we are all getting screwed on fertilizer prices equally so it is okay, No special deals for the big guys any more, isn't the open market wonderful. Just as long as we are all getting hosed at the same time and rate, our fate is sealed, once a pheasant always a pheasant, or is it once a pissant always a pissant, yeah thats it, lets git right for once framers!

[just_wondering]

"My prayer to God is a very short one: 'O Lord make my enemies ridiculous' God has granted it
Voltaire

[TOM4CWB]

Burbert,

This is likely the BEST time to be a grain farmer in generations... if you don't enjoy it please sell your land and do something else!

When my non-farming friends read what you write as a farmer... I am ashamed to admit you represent a part of my profession!

You bring special meaning to the words..."I am just a stupid farmer that has never marketed any grain in my life!".[Lorne Hein 1992]

[TOM4CWB]

Burbert,

Think about this for a second:

If you can work framing houses for $15/hr... and you instead charge $25/hr... because you believe you do a good job and deserve the compensation... are you wrong to charge the $25/hr?

What is "Reasonable"?

If you clear $100/ac on a barley field this year... is it 'fair' to charge a livestock producer $4/bu... and make him loose more money that he would if you only charged $3/bu?

Please explain your objective when you post these statements!