Fertiliser shocks and the long view on resilience

23 April 2026

The analysis referenced in this article was commissioned by the Business Council of Co‑operatives and Mutuals as part of its work examining economic resilience, supply chain sovereignty and Australia’s sovereign capability in food and agricultural systems.

Recent coverage in The Land has highlighted the growing pressure facing Australian agriculture as fertiliser and fuel supply chains remain exposed to global volatility, rising costs and limited domestic capacity.

Emeritus Professor Tim Mazzarol situates these pressures within a longer structural history. As he told The Land:

“The current fertiliser crisis is not primarily a story about the Middle East conflict. It’s a story about industrial consolidation, the dismantlement of farming co‑ops and the quiet erosion of Australia’s sovereign production capacity.”

Rather than being driven by a single geopolitical event, the challenge reflects decades of policy and market decisions that reduced competition and dismantled farmer‑owned supply chains that once anchored reliability and affordability.

For BCCM, the issue is not simply one of inputs, but of institutional design. As BCCM CEO Melina Morrison noted in the article:

“In a crisis we need more businesses that work in the national interest.”

Historically, co‑operatives played that role across fertiliser, fuel and other essential agricultural inputs – structuring markets around long‑term resilience, member need and national capability rather than short‑term financial return.

As Australia confronts sustained global uncertainty, the discussion highlighted in The Land reinforces a central question for policymakers and sector leaders alike: how critical supply chains are owned, governed and sustained over the long term.

Read the coverage in The Land: ‘Financially irrational’: how forgotten lessons from past fuelled supply crisis

Read the analysis: From co‑operatives to crisis: how Australia surrendered control of its fertiliser supply

Listen to the interview: Emeritus Professor Tim Mazzarol on ABC WA Country Hour, interviewed by Belinda Varischetti (21 April 2026)

Read the coverage in The West Australian: Fertiliser co-operative could avoid future supply chain woes as input security continues (6 May 2026)

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