World agog for Peru's bird guano

Lima -- Retailers in Peru say they're guarding their bird guano because of growing world demand for organic fertilizer.

Rising prices for synthetic fertilizers and organic food have shifted attention to guano, an organic fertilizer once found in large quantities on Peruvian islands. Deposits of the bird dung were high as 150 feet in the 19th century, The New York Times reported Friday.

Throughout its history, guano has been a highly prized commodity, a government official said. Wars have been fought for control over the guano islands.

"Before there was oil, there was guano, so of course we fought wars over it," said Pablo Arriola, director of Proabonos, the state company controlling guano production. "Guano is a highly desirous enterprise."

Guano in Peru sells for about $250 a ton and commands $500 a ton when exported to France, Israel and the United States. Though not as efficient as urea when releasing nitrates into the soil, guano has the good-as-gold organic label, making it a niche fertilizer coveted worldwide.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.