Green diesel prices have surged to the highest levels ever witnessed over recent days, as agri contractors are warning that the fuel crisis is worsening.
Prices quoted to contractors are averaging €1.49/l this week, after a spike of 15c/l over a matter of days.
The current cost of agri diesel is around 70% higher than 2025’s average price.
Increasing fuel costs have prompted the Association of Farm and Forestry Contractors in Ireland (FCI) to reiterate its call for the €58m in unclaimed green diesel reliefs that had been allocated to the Fuel Income Support Scheme to be remobilised within the farming sector to alleviate fuel price pressures.
'Terrified'
“Some of our members admit to being terrified to phone their fuel suppliers for a quote – they simply are at breaking point now and they can’t see an end in sight,” FCI national chair Norman Egar said.
“This is not simply a short-term increase. The higher fuel price continues to feed through every contracting operation.
“A contractor using 100,000l of fuel is facing an additional cost of approximately €69,000 compared with the €0.88/l level.”
Egar warned that contractors’ ability to absorb rising costs cannot increase indefinitely and that farmers’ access to contracted specialist machinery and skilled labour are threatened as a result.
The latest spike in fuel prices comes as contractors have reported a sluggish demand for regular summer contracting services, owing to poor grass growth that limited the volumes of silage cut over recent weeks.
Almost three-quarters of contractors surveyed by the FCI said that they had cut at least 250ac less of silage this year compared with 2025 and that they fear the shortfall in work could trigger cashflow issues.
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