The former fertiliser scientist and Summit-Quinphos company part-owner said he is fed up with the lack of information about and promotion of RPRs by the two large fertiliser co-operatives.
He has launched Quinfert. an importing and wholesaling company, paid for container loads of Algerian supplies and teamed up with distributors.
In the North Island that is Marsden Agri, owned by Carl Sisson, and in the South Island the company Fert Wholesale Direct, under principal Shane Harald.
Along with Quin, they are long-serving fertiliser industry executives.
The RPR was shipped in one tonne bags, which will be opened at the depots and usually sent to farmers as blends with other nutrients in bulk spreaders.
The Algerian RPR is 12.7% phosphate at 30% citric solubility in the form of a free-flowing sandy material and a cadmium content of 18 ppm or 140mg/kg of total P, only half the level of the industry’s cadmium standard.
RPR isn’t getting the exposure it deserves or needs to provide farmers with more environmentally friendly fertiliser options, Quin said.
Phosphate run-off is reduced because of the low soluble P portion coupled with slow release remainder to guard against build-ups of excess P.
Quin founded Quinphos in 1989 and battled to have RPR accepted as a useful alternative to superphosphate because of its slow-release quality.
At its peak Summit-Quinphos had 12% of the national phosphate market, about 75% of which was sold as RPR or mixes.
It imported 100,000 tonnes of RPR a year and total company sales were about 200,000t.
He exited the company in late 2005 and Sumitomo sold it to Ballance in 2009.
At its peak RPR accounted for 15% of phosphate used in New Zealand and Quin believes many farmers would use it again if it is well-described and promoted.
Initially the Quinfert RPR will be comparable with superphosphate in price but as sales volumes grow and he can use bulk shipping the cost to farmers will come down.
Co-incidentally, Ballance had just issued a price list, dropping the superphosphate price by $5/t and taking $40 off the DAP and Triple Super prices.
Yet the worldwide prices of phosphate and shipping rates have risen and the NZ dollar is weaker, all factors working against fertiliser prices for farmers, Quin said.
