The fertiliser marketing system in New Zealand

Abstract

The total area of New Zealand is 26.9 million hectares, of which the occupied land is about 17.4 million hectares; 75% is used for sheep and beef cattle farming, 10% is used for dairy cattle farming and 2% is used for field crops, gardens and orchards. Many of the soils of New Zealand are deficient in phosphate, nitrogen, potash and sulphur. Lime is required in some areas to gain benefits from the application of fertilizers. The quantity of fertilizers applied in any year is greatly influenced by the financial state of the farming industry. The latest figures that are available from the New Zealand Statistics Department are for the 1972-73 year. They show that the total gross farming income rose from $NZ885.6 million in 1968/69 to $NZ1,533.6 million in 1972-73. In 1968/69 the consumption of fertilizers amounted to 1,907,701 tonnes of material, and in 1972-73 the consumption amounted to 2,634,512 tonnes of materials, representing an increase of 38% in four years. Over the same period the consumption of lime increased from 884,000 tonnes to 1,540,000 tonnes, an increase of 74%.