This is a subscriber-only article
Fertiliser supply is likely to be disrupted and delayed as a result of the various restrictions and infections ?caused by COVID-19. An industry memo has warned of the inevitable consequences of movement restrictions in several important EU countries.
While it is not yet known how fertiliser production will be affected, ?the memo concluded that delays in the delivery of product seem inevitable.
However, industry sources here indicated that we have already imported over 600,000t of our annual requirement of 1.5m tonnes.
It is estimated that 250,000t to 300,000t of this is already at merchant or farmer levels, with the balance still held by the major wholesalers.
The same sources suggest that the trade will need to see another 500,000t to 550,000t available to farmers by the end of April, which would be about half the annual total usage by that time. This would necessitate the importation of about 150,000t in the next five to six weeks to meet peak demand.
This would be easily doable in normal circumstances, but these are not normal times. Who knows when this siege will end globally to restore normal working hours and conditions but it appears that farmers should consider getting spring requirements into stock in the near future.
A larger concern is that there is a risk that blending, bagging and distribution systems in Ireland could be hit by the virus, to possibly add further delays.
However, the main concerns must be to get the required level of product into the country in the coming months.
Always follow the HSE advice on
SHARING OPTIONS: