The market disruptions brought on by conflict in the Middle East cannot be used as an excuse to hike the price of fertiliser currently lying in storage across Ireland, the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) has warned fertiliser suppliers.
The warning comes amid concerns over fertiliser and energy price spikes resulting from the ongoing strikes carried out against urea-manufacturing heavyweight Iran.
IFA farm business chair Bill O’Keeffe said there that are enough supplies in the country to get the farm sector through a few months’ worth of demand.
“There is a sufficient supply of fertiliser in the country, in merchants’ yards today, to cover all requirements for first applications to tillage crops and grassland, both grazing and first-cut silage requirements,” O’Keeffe said.
“These stocks have been purchased before the current conflict started and the recent spike in energy prices.”
The farm business chair said that many farmers are only now going out to purchase fertiliser due to weather delays.
This poor weather and depressed prices for both grain and milk “mean that farmers cannot afford to be paying over the odds,” he added.
The prices to expect
The IFA quoted fertiliser prices that its members had reported for quantities delivered in half-tonne bags.
These prices are as follows:
€395-€415/t for CAN.€405-€425/t for CAN + sulphur.€550-€580/t for protected urea.€490-€510/t for Pasture Sward. €500-€525/t for Cut Sward. €525-€535/t for 10:5:25. €545-€555/t for 13:6:20. €580-€595/t for 10:10:20. €490-€500/t for 0:7:30. CBAM costs
The IFA has also called on the European Commission to suspend the new carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) it introduced on products imported into the EU, including fertilisers, in January.
CBAM is a tariff levied on imports aimed at putting a cost on imported carbon.
The Commission had previously proposed that CBAM could be temporarily suspended in the case it was harmful to the EU buyers of impacted products.
“While it is early days, should energy prices remain elevated, it is likely to impact on fertiliser prices as we move through 2026,” O’Keeffe continued.
“Given this, it is now imperative that our Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon pushes for the immediate suspension of CBAM tariffs on fertiliser to minimise any price impact in the coming months.”
EU data for Ireland's fertiliser imports suggests that shipments had ran well ahead of their average pace for the closing months of 2025.
The market disruptions brought on by conflict in the Middle East cannot be used as an excuse to hike the price of fertiliser currently lying in storage across Ireland, the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) has warned fertiliser suppliers.
The warning comes amid concerns over fertiliser and energy price spikes resulting from the ongoing strikes carried out against urea-manufacturing heavyweight Iran.
IFA farm business chair Bill O’Keeffe said there that are enough supplies in the country to get the farm sector through a few months’ worth of demand.
“There is a sufficient supply of fertiliser in the country, in merchants’ yards today, to cover all requirements for first applications to tillage crops and grassland, both grazing and first-cut silage requirements,” O’Keeffe said.
“These stocks have been purchased before the current conflict started and the recent spike in energy prices.”
The farm business chair said that many farmers are only now going out to purchase fertiliser due to weather delays.
This poor weather and depressed prices for both grain and milk “mean that farmers cannot afford to be paying over the odds,” he added.
The prices to expect
The IFA quoted fertiliser prices that its members had reported for quantities delivered in half-tonne bags.
These prices are as follows:
€395-€415/t for CAN.€405-€425/t for CAN + sulphur.€550-€580/t for protected urea.€490-€510/t for Pasture Sward. €500-€525/t for Cut Sward. €525-€535/t for 10:5:25. €545-€555/t for 13:6:20. €580-€595/t for 10:10:20. €490-€500/t for 0:7:30. CBAM costs
The IFA has also called on the European Commission to suspend the new carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) it introduced on products imported into the EU, including fertilisers, in January.
CBAM is a tariff levied on imports aimed at putting a cost on imported carbon.
The Commission had previously proposed that CBAM could be temporarily suspended in the case it was harmful to the EU buyers of impacted products.
“While it is early days, should energy prices remain elevated, it is likely to impact on fertiliser prices as we move through 2026,” O’Keeffe continued.
“Given this, it is now imperative that our Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon pushes for the immediate suspension of CBAM tariffs on fertiliser to minimise any price impact in the coming months.”
EU data for Ireland's fertiliser imports suggests that shipments had ran well ahead of their average pace for the closing months of 2025.
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