Aurivo, Dairygold and Lakeland Dairies have not ruled out sourcing Russian fertiliser for sale in Ireland.

Following the controversialimportation of Russian fertiliser by New Ross-based Nitrofert, the Irish Farmers Journal asked Ireland’s main co-ops on whether they too plan to source or sell such product.

Under EU law, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium manufactured in Russia are allowed to be imported, subject to an EU quota, without breaking sanctions.

A Lakeland Dairies spokesperson said the co-op would not break EU sanctions, but failed to confirm its intentions regarding sourcing Russian product.

Aurivo did not respond to queries on the matter, while Dairygold said it is not purchasing Russian fertiliser at present.

'Adequate supplies'

“The society is working hard to ensure that customers will have adequate supplies of competitively priced fertiliser for the coming season and will continue to monitor the situation.”

It is understood that some of the co-ops in question are fearful of being boxed into a corner on fertiliser when they are not sure how supply and prices will play out over the coming months.

Meanwhile, Tirlán and Kerry have confirmed they will not be sourcing the Russian product.

A Tirlán spokesperson said: “In solidarity with the people of Ukraine and the views of our employees, the board of Tirlán has decided that our co-op will not be sourcing fertiliser product from Russia.”

“We are not planning to source fertiliser from Russia,” a Kerry spokesperson confirmed.

Last week, An Taoiseach Micheál Martin told the Irish Farmers Journal at the Women and Agriculture conference that “anything to do with food production” is exempt from EU sanctions.