China’s fertilizer and pesticide output fell in December to their lowest on records going back to February 2015, data showed on Monday, as Beijing’s war on smog and efforts to ensure winter heating forced producers to suspend operations.

 

Fertilizer output dropped 7 percent from a year ago to 4.75 million tonnes, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday. The volume was also down 9.3 percent from the previous month’s 5.24 million tonnes, the data also showed.

 

The drop came after natural gas shortages this winter forced many gas-based fertilizer plants to shut, tightening supplies and pushing up prices in the world’s top agricultural market amid a deepening winter heating crisis.

 

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