TRADE & COMMODITIES
A 1500 Series E-Crane handles fertilizer for Kinder Morgan at its Port Sutton dry bulk fertilizer terminal in Tampa, Florida, USA. For more details on this project, please see p101 of this issue.
Global fertilizer outlook
NOVEMBER 2012
Maria Cappuccio
DCi 6
In the latest assessment of prospects for the global economy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded that uncertainty weighs heavily on the outlook. They suggest a key reason is that policies in the major advanced economies have struggled to rebuild confidence in medium-term prospects; while risks such as the viability of the euro area and US fiscal policy mistakes, continue to preoccupy investors. The IMF project global growth at 3.6% in 2013, weaker than previously forecast with output expected to remain sluggish in advanced economies but still relatively solid in many emerging market and developing economies. Poor results from blue chip companies and weak demand increased anxiety about a potential slowdown, that
added to macro-economic woes and sent stock and commodity prices tumbling, as investors fled from risky assets, to the safety of Treasury bonds. With stocks poised to dip further, a survey from China’s manufacturing sector provided a tiny spark, which helped revive the prices of many asset classes, including commodities. FAO
BACKS AGRICULTURAL CO-OPERATIVES TO IMPROVE FOOD
SECURITY
Sharply reduced cereal supplies in the wake of a severe drought in the US and in other key producing regions and higher commodity prices, well above those seen in the last five years,