IMPORTATION OF FERTILIZERS.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XVIII, Issue 6, 20 June 1919, Page 358

IMPORTATION OF FERTILIZERS.

ANNUAL RETURNS AND REVIEW.

By

B. C. ASTON,

F.I.C., Chemist to the Department.

The returns of artificial fertilizers imported into New Zealand during the year ended 31st March, 1919, are now, by the courtesy of the Comptroller of Customs, available for the accompanying tables. These, as usual, are designed to show the returns of the twelvemonth compared with those of the previous corresponding period.

The following is a summary of the kinds, quantities, and values of the various fertilizers imported during the years ended 31st March, 1918 and 1919 :—

Reviewing the statistics, it will be seen that the importation of phosphatic fertilizers for the past year shows a great falling-off, particularly in bonedust, superphosphate, and Egyptian phosphate, of which three fertilizers in the aggregate there are shortages totalling some 36,000 tons. Compared with the previous year's figures, those for guano and rock phosphate have not shown such a falling-off, there being a decrease equal to only one-sixth ; no Egyptian phosphate was imported, however, as against 11,000 tons during the previous period ; and only half the quantity of bonedust and three-fifths of the quantity of superphosphate was received in comparison with the previous year’s importation. This shortage may be put down almost entirely to the lack of shipping facilities, which it is hoped will be considerably improved now that the conditions are returning to normal. Potash manures, as might have been . expected, show no change. There seems to be very little demand for this class of fertilizer in New Zealand. The writer, still has occasional offers from sawmill-owners of wood-ashes having a potash-content of about 5 per cent, (soluble K 2 O) and 10 per cent, total (soluble in acid), but has difficulty in placing them with farmers or fertilizer-mixers. Nitrate of soda, which for the last year or so has shown a downward tendency, has increased from 24 tons to 204 tons. In the past a few hundred tons of sulphate of ammonia and nitrate of soda have been’ imported every year, but the amount used for fertilizers does not raise hopes that the soluble nitrogenous class of fertilizer will be required in amounts which will necessitate the establishment of factories for manufacturing nitrogen compounds from the air.

Elephant-grass. — The Department received some seed of elephantgrass (Pennisetum purpureum) from Rhodesia in 1915, which was sent to Moumahaki Experimental Farm to test its forage value. A plot was sown in November and the grass reached 5 ft. in height by the middle of the following April. It came into flower but did not seed. Horses seemed fond of it, and in spite of the stems being an inch in diameter they ate it all. The plants died down in June, and there was no further growth until after Christmas. The period of growth here seems to be from January to the middle of April. Elephantgrass is a perennial plant, and at Moumahaki it did best the first season. It requires hot dry weather to be of real value, and as a good crop of maize would give the farmer three times more forage, elephant-grass seems to have only limited recommendations for New Zealand conditions. — Beverley, Assistant Agriculturist.

Mr. W. Dempster, of the Dairy Division, who has been officially deputed to investigate milk-product industries in the United States and Canada, left for San Francisco early this month. Delegates of the National Dairy Association, and of the co-operative dairy factories of the Taranaki and Wellington Districts, left by the same boat on similar missions, the itinerary of the last-mentioned delegation also including Britain and the Continent of Europe. -

Note.—With regard to the “declared values” which are given above, the Comptroller of Customs supplies the following explanation: “The value for duty is defined as the fair market value in the country whence the goods are imported, plus io’per cent. As the addition of io per cent, does not nearly cover the present freight, insurance, and other charges, the statistical value is a long way less than the actual landed value.” ■

Fertilizer. Weight. Value. Year 1918-19. Year 1917-18. Year 1918-19. Year 1917-18. Tons. Tons. £ £ Bonedust .. ... Tons. 3,468 Tons. 6,363 £ 31,054 £ 41,898 Bone char .. .. 200 676 i,i49 3,403 Bone and blood 79 26 i,i75 360 Basic slag .. .. 10 43 Egyptian basic phosphate 11,225 43,217 Superphosphate . .. • • 185,515 Superphosphate 21,400 21,400 37,157 37,157 H4,999 H4,999 185,515 Guano and rock phosphate . . 31,351 37,037 ,240 66,882 Sulphate of potash . . 30 25 1,028 825 Gypsum .. .. .. 342 564 828 902 Sulphate of ammonia . . .. 10 65 349 i,73i Nitrate of soda 204 34 3,435 ‘ 602 Sulphate of iron 64 . 54 826 380 Manures unspecified .. .. 202 1,668 • • 1,668 Totals .. 57,350 93,236 2i7,75i 345,758

follows :— Year ended Year ended 31st March, 1919. 31st March, 1918. £ s.' d/ s. ■ £ .s. d. , d. £ s. d. Bonedust . .. ' • • , . . . 9.00' 0 612 0 O 6 12 0 Basicslag' Nil. 460 6 O Egyptian phosphate Nil. 3 17 0 17 0 Superphosphate 5 7 6 7 4 19 6 6 4 19 6 Guano and rock phosphate .. 1 19 0 19 1 17 0 0 1 17 0 Nitrate .of soda.. .. ... 16 17 0 17 17 15 0 0 17 15 0 Sulphate of ammonia . • 34 18 0 18 26 12 6 0 26 12 6

The declared import values per ton of the chief phosphatic and soluble nitrogenous fertilizers for the two years under review work out as follows :

Invercargill .. 1919 'O Dunedin .. 1919 E ■ . s 8 i S E s S- ' £ ’ . B s | 5 1 '■ § E 1 3 ■ ? K < g ■ S 3 8 CfQ P O P B CL ■ B . * ■ ~ g a VQ VO . Vo VO Vo VO vq VO VO VO VO VO vo VO vo VO VO vo vq VO Oo VO Oo VO OoVO OqVO OqVO OqVO • OqVO OqVO OqVO Oo VO New Zealand Port of Entry. ’ <-Q •• • • • bat} H H • O •• . O • • too O 4*Nitrogenous Manures. Australia. H 4\ tO ...... VO 00 o 4\ O\ 'O to -fx 4». o kt co Bonedust and Blood-and-bone. KI to to Co H to O\ Ov to H N H Cn O -'ovoCnO>OoOoto« vo o to co • vo to cn 4x Ov 4\ O\Cn to Oo vo OO Chen 00 O CO Cn H VO co H O O OoM O to o OqKJ O 'J O O vo Superphosphate. • CO VO . Os • O\VO H . CO .... Co H Co • co Oo 4\ • Oqkj o . H kj . . . . Co cn Cn to. oo to Cn • Co to kj cn Cn O vo kj Rock Phosphate and Phosphate unspecified. KJ QWO <3 . Gypsum. • • • cn • • * • • .. . cn • • . o ••••'• • . . .. i . .,.'■. o Nitrogenous Manures. Chile. Potash Manures. India. o . Cn . . I \ I . . I co II II . .co kj to o Oo Cn cn 4\ 4k Ca Cn o o OO O x 4\ O Bonedust. to . ' ’ Superphosphate. Japan. o£ 1 p -tot oft g» Eg * ES £5- 5- Eg o2- » oHL |g g oS s? a. a » p> . . .. S-E p. a 8 £• h ST gs- S-g. * 5-g. : : • • : : 8 » : : : : : - &S -| g.| iz: p 9 o Q ■ w p* p Pacific and Indian Ocean Islands. •4*. Co 4\ H to H H Oo CO X" OO O O CO h • • •• •• vqvo ... .. . 0> to Ch H • to h O Co co o Cn to cn o Cn 4x H cn os O vo xj O O VO Cn Ci O O O Co to KJ OS Rock Phosphate. Nitrogenous Manures. United Kingdom. 1. ' Superphosphate. • . . . .. • . . H • tO .. .. •• • • Gypsum. Potash Manures. • • • • ' . . . . . . . .. .. .. .. . . Phosphate unspecified. Iron Sulphate. Nitrate of Soda. United States. • • • •-,••• Op •• • . , • • • H Iron Sulphate. to , to Co to c> o kj Cn o o cn o Basic Phosphate. Egypt. p 3 Oo'O Lyttelton .. 1919 „ •• 1918 Napier .. 1919 „ • • 1918 Wellington .. 1919 „ • • 1918 3 p w P m CTQ P y £. &vo 0 p Co VO 21 n> 2 - ■<" XO Auckland .. 1919 New Zealand Port of Entry. Oov 3 0 ? 0 to 'o • "o to to to 0 0 H Nitrogenous Manures. 'to * • • to 4\ O • • Jo o° Bonedust and Blood-and-bone. Australi o to cT to Ca ch CACa O O VJ to Oo 00 10 to • 0 O\ ov VO 0 VO 00 to 0 to h Ox °° 00 0 co 0 to O Superphosphate. co CO 00 VQ> to S’ O\VO 0 • to co XI CA Co CA Ca 0 VO to Rock Phosphate and Phosphate unspecified. 3 : N CO O\VO £ ’ 'o Gypsum. o cn O Nitrogenous Manures. Chile. • • 0 • • ■ • • Potash Manures. ET 0 <3 0 Oo‘ 0 Cn ca 0 O 3,344 'o Bonedust. to Superphosphate. Japan. J New Caledonia .. 1 Makatea Island .. j Makatea Island .. 1 New Caledonia sT 8 sc ( Makatea Island .. 1 New Caledonia .. New Caledonia New Caledonia • 2 D 3 n tT 0 3. p* / Makatea Island .. J New Caledonia .. 1 Society Islands .. ( Makatea Island .. (New Caledonia .. Name of Islands. Pacific and Indian Ocean Is! H p y 00 0 0 Co co 0 O 0 0 0 D <to Cn N c co to CA Rock Phosphate. • • ' * ' Nitrogenous Manures. Superphosphate. a y • to Gypsum. ted Kir ::::::::::::::::: : : Potash Manures. OQ cu 0 B Phosphate unspecified. . . • . . . • 4k . • to • •• • • • • Iron Sulphate. Nitrate of Soda. <z>cl s-g. Iron Sulphate. ted tes. to 0 2,500 3,475 to 'S Basic Phosphate. Egypt-

IMPORTATION (IN TONS) OF PRINCIAL FERTILIZERS TO NEW ZEALAND FOR YEARS ENDED 31ST MARCH, 1919 AND 1918, SHOWING COUNTRIES OF DEPARTURE.