From the Houston Chronicle, May 26:
Fertilizer plants along the Texas Gulf Coast are at the center of a federal inquiry into allegations of market manipulation, as recent price spikes have left farmers struggling to afford the chemicals needed to grow their crops.
The U.S. Department of Justice has requested information from fertilizer companies, as prosecutors investigate whether a series of corporate mergers in recent decades has turned the industry into an illegal monopoly that is gouging farmers.
At the same time, the U.S. Senate is weighing a series of bills that would require companies across the fertilizer supply chain to release their sales data to regulators, to try and chart where profits are being made. Similar legislation is under consideration in the U.S. House, and President Donald Trump has even taken notice, writing on social media last month, "the United States will not accept PRICE GOUGING from the fertilizer monopoly."
"I think there's structural things that need to be addressed," Senate Majority Leader John Thune said at a recent hearing on fertilizer prices in the Senate. "There's a small number of manufacturers who have the lion's share of fertilizer production.".....
....MUCH MORE
There's an opportunity here.
If interested (and who wouldn't be?) see also, from the University of Illinois' FarmDoc Daily, May 26:
Consolidation Trends in the U.S. Nitrogen Fertilizer Industry
