This is a subscriber-only article
The proposal by the European Commission to extend anti-dumping measures on ammonium nitrate from Russia for another five years will cost European farmers up to €3bn, the IFA has said.
Anti-dumping duties are an additional cost charged to companies exporting product into the European Union where it is decided by the Commission that the price is below cost.
On top of a customs duty of 6.5% and transport costs, ammonium nitrate from Russia is charged an additional €32.71/tonne.
IFA president Tim Cullinan said: “It is incredible that a measure introduced in 1995 will now be extended to 2025 in order to assure and protect the profitability of European fertiliser producers.
“The case put forward by the Commission was full of conjecture and referred to a possible threat of dumping on the European market, with no concrete evidence to support this.”
Fairer market
The IFA has said farmers are paying over the odds for fertiliser in Ireland and Europe despite natural gas costs decreasing. The Commission allows for a time lag of five months for fertiliser prices to show a decrease.
Cullinan continued: “Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski has not replied to my letter sent to him in July on this matter.
“We need to see the Commissioner come out and defend farmers’ livelihoods by demanding a fairer market for fertiliser inputs.”
SHARING OPTIONS: