Ravensdown fertiliser plant in Hornby, Christchurch. Photo: Google Maps
Fertiliser company Ravensdown is undergoing a restructure after a 20 to 25 percent drop in sales.
Chief operating officer Mike Whitty said farmers had a "pretty tough time" over recent months with inflation and high input costs and were buying less fertiliser.
Prices for farm produce had fallen between 8 and 15 percent, he said.
"On top of that they've had a 25 percent plus increase for their input costs like fuel, feed, fertilizer funding and labour.
"We've gone from most farming businesses being in a really positive position to a really challenging position where many of them are in a break-even or loss position now.
"That's resulted in fertiliser sales coming back, so we are just responding to the market and making sure we are in a position to look after our customers into the future."
Ravensdown was expecting lower sales for some time, so a restructure was needed, Whitty said.
He could not say how many jobs may be lost, but said the outcome of the restructure would be known mid-year.
"The last time we saw a drop in sales like this was back in 2009 during the global financial crisis ... where commodity prices went through the roof and then corrected."