Amid the current shortage of nitrogen fertiliser, ABP's Port of Ipswich is bucking the trend and seeing record amounts arrive at its shores. In October alone, seven vessels (four dry bulk and three tankers) carrying 59,450 metric tonnes of fertiliser safely came through the port; up from 5,452 metric tonnes in October 2020. Last month also saw the port’s largest single fertiliser cargo received to date, according to ABP's release.
2021 has born witness to strong demand for fertiliser and low supply. The situation was made worse in September when Britain’s two nitrogen fertiliser plants closed.
The Port of Ipswich is typically better known as the UK’s leading grain export port but recently fertiliser imports have taken over as the main activities onsite. British supply is slowly returning but ABP ports will no doubt continue to handle large volumes of fertiliser for the foreseeable future and support the British farming industry.