Exporting Spanish River Carbonatite 

Transportation logistics

 

Boreal Agrominerals will mine SRC and package into 1000kg, 20kg or 4.5kg for the company Spread-X to sell. Spread-X is located near Ottawa and about 460km from the port of Toronto costing approximately 75$ for the tote the fertilizer comes in and the km’s to deliver the produce (Spread-X, 2015). There is the possibility to buy smaller amounts but to be economical this cost projection will ship in 1000kg totes. The fertilizer will then be shipped by Maersk Line in 40ft shipping containers. The rates for shipping from North America to India are $630USD for the SBF price, extra charges that are unknown are terminal handling charges of loading and unloading, document charges and extra BAS charges as the amount of fertilizer and weight determine extra charges (Maersk Line, 2015). The fertilizer will be shipped to Calcutta port, India and where imports must go through to get to Nepal and taken by train to Katmandu where it can be distributed to communities or farmers that ordered the fertilizer (Maersk Line World Factbook)

 

A company in Nepal already selling fertilizers could be potential importer of SRC and could group along with other fertilizers and goods already coming from Canada but the costs are unknown at the moment as demand of the product will be the main factor in transportation costs

 

If the company in Boreal Agrominerals or Spread-X sells directly to the farmers in Nepal, there will have to be a website or brochure available to Nepalese farmer they are willing to use.   

 

 

Cost analysis

 

The table below shows the prices for sustainable fertilizers and soil amendments like SRC. The cost of buying directly from Spread-X is $120.00/1000kg, $34.95/20kg and $17.99/4.5kg bag. Traditional agricultural limestone is haft the price of SRC but does not have phosphorus, potassium or micronutrients. The micronutrients listed at the bottom are essential to good productivity of soils but very expensive when sold separately (Spread-X, 2015., Kabaya-Pendias, 2010).

 

 

DRY Fertilizers & SOIL AMENDMENTS

Format

Price

other format

 

  Calphos                                                                20P - 20Ca

50lb

$18.39

 

 

  Certified Dolomitic Lime                                  28Ca – 16Mg

1000kg

$34.00

 

 

   Corn gluten meal (not organic)                      9-0-0

9.1kg

$19.00

 

 

    Organic extruded soybean meal                     7-2-1   48% protein

25kg

$42.95

 

 

  Organic Flax meal                                             6-1-1

25kg

$33.95

 

 

  Earth Alive – Soil Activator                            BioStimulant

25kg

$329.95

$39.95/4kg

  Greensand      20 K

50lb

$32.95

 

 

  Gypsum                                                                17Ca - 22S

50lb

$12.20

 

 

  Limestone Calcitic                                            34Ca

1000kg

$65.00

$13.50/25kg

15.00/MT bulk

  Limestone Dolomitic                                         22Ca – 11Mg

1000kg

$65.00

$18.50/25kg

20.00/MT bulk

  Magnesium oxide                                              55MgO

25kg

$41.00

 

 

   Magnesium Sulfate/Powder                            9.8Mg - 12S

60lb

$39.00

 

 

   Spanish River Carbonatite                               0.1-3.2-1.5 19 Ca

1000kg

$120.00

$34.95/20kg

$17.99/4.5kg

   Sulphate of Potash                                             50S - 17P

1000kg

$1,300.00

 

 

Sulphur                                                                S90%

1000kg

$918.00

 

 

  Sul-Po-Mag  (K-Mag)                                       22K - 11Mg - 22S

1000kg

$1,100.00

 

 

  Wollastonite                                                         5.12Mg, 19.8Ca,1.88K

1000kg

$100.00

Micro nutrients:

 

  Boron Granular                                                  15%

0.5kg

$1.45

  Cobalt Sulphate                                                  22% C 20% S

50lb

$1,123.50

Manganese sulphate

26-28Mn

50lb

$39.00

 

Copper sulphate

35%

25kg

$192.50

 

Ferous sulphate

pH reducer

25kg

$30.00

 

Zinc oxide

72%

50lb

$187.00

 

zinc sulphate

35%

50lb

$80.00

 

Table from Spread X Spring prices 2015

 

 

Transportation + product cost

 

Cost $

1000kg of SRC - $120

Shipping - $630 (+unknowns)

Land Transport - $75

Total Approx. = $825

 

The approximate cost of Spanish River Carbonite to Nepal is $825 with the acknowledgment of unknown factors in price of shipping and transport.

 

According to a report done by the FAO the average annual house hold income for rural families in Nepal is 30 980 Nepalese rupees which equal approximately $311 USD (Maltsoglou and Taniguchi, 2004., WFB, 2014) Therefore SRC may not suite a household in rural Nepal but a community that could buy into a cooperative with multiple villages. As shown above the cost of SRC is high for individuals without subsidies and government aid. It has been over 30 years since an in-depth look at the use and economics of fertilizers in Nepal and the government when looking at the 70% employment in agriculture should subside or incentives the largest industry in Nepal. (Joshy and Deo, 1976) Over 60% of the population lives in the hill and mountain regions that use only 25% of the imported fertilizers in Nepal (Maltsoglou and Taniguchi, 2004., Sherchan and Karki, 2007) Government involvement in the distribution of fertilizer in the hill and mountain region could greatly increase the production.

 

In the future Boreal Agrominerals is looking to sell a 1kg bag for under $10, this may be the perfect size to export the Nepalese farms as it would be affordable (Fanczyk, 2014).There is the potential for lowering costs through buying directly from the quarry in Sudbury as growers in Ontario can buy it for $55 a tonne when buying in bulk (Franczyk, 2014) A company from Nepal or a NGO could provide the packaging or containers needed to ship loose SRC to Nepal and package it in country creating job possibilities in the Nepal.