Demand for fertiliser is well back and people are only beginning to realise there could be bottlenecks in the coming weeks, Liam Woulfe, managing director of Grassland Agro, has said.

“Only about 2% of annual fertiliser has been applied yet, if even. Normally, we’re at 10% by this time,” he told the Irish Farmers Journal.

“Farmers should get fertiliser on to their farms immediately. Take product on to the farm and store it. We need to minimise disruption.

“We’re nowhere at full throttle on dispatches. Trucks last week were idle that are normally on [delivery] runs,” he said.

“There is no economic disadvantage to getting fertiliser on to your yard. If the peak gets any higher and coincides with a peak in COVID-19, we’re looking at serious issues.”

Price rise

“The market signals are that prices will go up. There is no possibility of the price decreases in the near-term,” he said, warning that a rise is likely in April.

Woulfe said that traditionally 40% of Grassland Agro’s annual deliveries are between 10 March and 30 April.