FARM expenses are set to increase across 2025, with inputs expected to be slightly higher than last year.

That’s the outlook from Bendigo Bank agricultural analyst Sean Hickey.

However, he said the price of resources used in fertiliser production appears to have stabilised compared to the volatility seen between 2021 and 2023.

Mr Hickey said, because Australia imported more than half its fertiliser supplies, a lower Australian dollar was impacting our buying power as global trade was generally done in US dollars. 

“Geopolitical uncertainty remains a factor as global fertiliser exporters including China, the European Union and Russia remain embroiled in various trade issues,” he said.

“But an increase in the amount of
nitrogen-based fertiliser imported has maintained pretty decent price stability over 2024 and we see nitrogen pricing trending higher over the next quarter before stabilising later in 2025.

“Phosphate based fertilisers such as MAP and DAP are coming into a high demand period after sluggish demand and seasonal factors saw a price decline at the start of 2025. 

“China has halted exports of DAP and MAP fertiliser from December 2024 until April 2025, so we expect both MAP and DAP to sit above the $1300/t mark through to mid-2025.”

Mr Hickey said the International Energy Agency anticipated a slight lift in crude oil demand in 2025.

Labour supply had been a significant challenge for producers, particularly those involved in the horticulture and wool sectors reliant on sourcing significant numbers of workers for a very short period of time. 

“While labour supply has certainly improved, we expect sourcing farm workers, with the exception of skilled shearers, to be much easier in 2025,” Mr Hickey said.