Brazil May fertilizer sales hit record high

Fertilizer sales in Brazil rose 63 percent in May from a year earlier to a monthly record level, industry data showed on Friday, in a sign high commodity prices could be leading farmers to invest to raise yields. Taking into account the sale of 2.2 million tonnes last month, the volume registered from January through May totalled 8.6 million tonnes, up 23.8 percent from the same period in 2010, Brazil's national fertilizer association, Anda, said.
Farmers in Brazil, the No 2 food producer after the United States, have invested in higher yields as the fastest way to profit from currently strong prices. According to Anda, demand through May was led by the winter corn crop, which is now being harvested, and wheat and sugar cane crops. It also noted that farmers are bringing forward purchases of inputs for the planting of the summer soybean and corn crops, which will start around September.