A Canadian fertilizer company located 3 miles from the Hamlin, Maine, border crossing plans to set up a facility in northern Maine next year, saying it is the only way to stay in business and circumvent the bilateral trade tariffs that went into effect on Tuesday.
Danny Blanchette, who co-owns Grand Falls Agromart in Grand Falls, New Brunswick, said he imports 65 percent of his fertilizer ingredients, including potash and ammonium sulfate, from the United States. He then mixes in minerals to make fertilizers for specific crops like potatoes before exporting them back to Maine and elsewhere. The bilateral 25 percent tariffs will make staying in business a huge challenge, he said.
He said he does not even make 25 percent on the fertilizers he imports after he mixes them and sells them to U.S. growers. He can survive this year, he said, but next year he will have to set up a location in Maine to sell to local farmers.
“The growers won’t be able to sustain this, and the food prices will go up so high that people can’t buy it anymore,” Blanchette said.
He plans to set up the U.S. operation somewhere between Presque Isle and Van Buren. Agromart, which is part of a Canadian franchise, is a large supplier of fertilizer in Canada and on the U.S. East Coast.
Fertilizer is a major commodity traded between the neighboring countries, with Maine having imported more than $22 million worth of fertilizer from Canada in 2024 and Canada importing $3.6 million from Maine that year, according to trade statistics company WiserTrade.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau highlighted the fertilizer trade during a press conference on Tuesday, saying it is an item the United States “needs to grow and prosper.”
“They’ve chosen to launch a trade war that will, first and foremost, harm American families,” Trudeau said.
Trudeau initiated 25 percent retaliatory tariffs against U.S. goods on Tuesday in response to the 25 percent tariffs levied by U.S. President Donald Trump earlier that day.
U.S. agriculture trade groups also were quick to respond to the tariffs. The Agricultural Retailers Association and The Fertilizer Institute issued a joint statement saying they acknowledge the Trump Administration’s commitment to strengthening American industry, but they are concerned about the impact of the 25 percent tariffs on Canadian imports to farmers and the entire agriculture supply chain.
“The 25 percent tariffs on critical fertilizer imports from Canada, including potash, ammonium sulfate, nitrogen fertilizers and sulfur, will drive up the cost of production for U.S. farmers,” they said. “These costs ripple throughout the agriculture community, ultimately leading to higher prices at the grocery store.”
Fertilizer companies in the two countries, including Grand Falls Agromart, rely heavily on each other to get the correct mixture of ingredients for each crop. For example potatoes need more nitrogen than broccoli.
That co-dependence has created pricing pressures whenever there are new tariffs, including in 2022, when the United States, Canada and Europe all set punitive tariffs on fertilizer imports from Russia after it started the war in Ukraine. Maine farmers faced soaring prices and shortages of fertilizer that year, Blanchette said. He isn’t sure yet about the financial impact of the new tariffs, but said his company lost about 130 million Canadian dollars in business in 2022 because of the tariffs on Russian imports.
The resulting short supply of fertilizer quickly affected trade between the United States and Canada. U.S. fertilizer shipments to Canada fell 18 percent to $2 billion from 2022 to 2023, and Canada’s shipments to the United States fell 25 percent to $4.4 billion in 2023.
Blanchette said fertilizer makers and growers probably can survive this year with the higher prices, but the future after that is bleak if the tariffs continue.
“It’s going to hurt this year, but next year we’re going to do something in Maine,” he said. “We have no choice.”
Lori Valigra is an environment reporter for the BDN’s Maine Focus investigative team. Reach her at [email protected]. Support for this reporting is provided by the Unity Foundation, a fund at the Maine Community Foundation, and donations by BDN readers.
