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Farm leaders have slammed fertiliser suppliers over the windfall profits they made last year, as revealed by the Irish Farmers Journal last week.
IFA president Tim Cullinan called on merchants and co-ops to stop profiteering and reduce prices now.
“Fertiliser companies made huge profits due to rising markets in 2022. They need to lead the price down in 2023 instead of looking for another windfall,” he said.
“We have seen a sustained significant drop in the price of natural gas of up on 85% since September 2022. The spike in natural gas prices was referenced as the main driver of increased fertiliser prices last year,” Cullinan said.
In line with what is happening with gas, he said farmers should now be seeing a significant reduction in fertiliser prices, but highlighted that this is not happening.
Other markets
The Tipperary farmer highlighted that in the UK, the price of granulated urea for farmers has decreased by over 40% since last September.
“Similar decreases are being seen in most other markets, with the exception of here in Ireland.
“With production of fertiliser now returning to normal levels in Europe after widespread curtailments last year, these price decreases look like continuing,” he said.
’Cream it’
Elsewhere, ICSA president Dermot Kelleher warned that suppliers “shouldn’t be allowed to cream it off the back of farmers”.
“The amount of profit that was made by these big companies last year was crazy,” he said.
Kelleher called for an investigation into what he alleged as “price gouging” by fertiliser suppliers. A similar call was made by Ireland South MEP Billy Kelleher in Europe.
“I have requested the Commission to investigate the possibility of price gouging and manipulation by some fertiliser manufacturers and in the wholesale supply chain.
“We need fair practices in the EU single market and if improper activities are unearthed, the Commission and member states must act,” the Fianna Fáil MEP said.
He added that a long-term EU fertiliser strategy is needed but called for immediate intervention in 2023 “to avert a food security crisis and further food inflation for families” caused by high input costs for farmers.
Merchants delaying quotes
ICMSA boss Pat McCormack accused suppliers of stalling on fertiliser price drops in a bid to continue to compel farmers to pay the “highest possible price”.
“We know that numerous farmers were outright refused future quotes when they contacted fertiliser suppliers and so effectively were forced to just purchase at the present inflated prices, even though all the evidence is that the prices are already falling,” he said.
Macra president John Keane called for the Department of Agriculture to intervene and seek an explanation for the “extraordinarily high” fertiliser prices in 2022.
“These organisations must answer to why they increased their profit margins so dramatically, which thus caused huge financial difficulties among farmers last year.”
Irish Grain Growers Group (IGGG) chair Bobby Miller said tillage farmers will take the biggest brunt of the impact of merchant delays to reduce prices.
“We have a very tight window to buy fertiliser and the industry knows this. We’ll have all our money spent before any price drop comes.”
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