The urea is bound for the Western Australian market and is expected to arrive in two shipments in late April.

Elders Rural Services managing director Mike Guerin said that the trial shipment had been organised to assess opportunities to deliver better value for clients.

“Fertiliser is right up there as one of the major costs for our clients in the cropping sector," he said.

"The last year, in particular, has seen extremely high wholesale prices which we know have been sorely felt by growers.

“But urea is a globally traded commodity and, with the approach of the planting season, we are keen to try to see if we can deliver a better outcome for growers by increasing competition in the supply of urea into Australia.

“We are delighted to be able to do that in co-operation with our joint venture partner in grain, Toepfer International.”

The Elders Toepfer joint venture will be the fertiliser importer and will manage logistics for these shipments.

“We believe that the addition of new players to the fertiliser market can only be a positive move, generating increased competition and supply options for the benefit of Australian primary producers," Mr Guerin said.

Elders has been involved in the fertiliser industry for several years now through its Elders Landmark Fertiliser joint venture and currently owns 50 per cent of Hi-Fert.

The trial shipment is independent of these existing interests.