It’s a tale of two halves when it comes to fertiliser sales throughout the country, according to merchants. Farmers in the south of the country are busy purchasing fertiliser, ready to spread when ground conditions allow.

However, the same cannot be said for elsewhere in the country. Ground conditions along the west, midlands and northeast of the country mean that it will be extremely difficult to carry out any extensive level of field work in the near future.

While all merchants are reporting large stocks of fertiliser in the yards, western co-ops feel that it will be 1 March before sales really kick off, with the unpredictable weather and ground conditions stalling farmers from purchasing.

Prices reported throughout the country remain relatively consistent, with urea in general priced between €350 and €360/t. Discounts of €5 to €10/t may be got where large bulk orders are purchased with prompt payment on the day. The lowest quotes of €345/t were in Tipperary and Cork, with quotes of €360/t in Mayo and €350/t in Roscommon.

Prices in the midlands and northeast ranged between €350 and €360/t. Prices for urea in early January ranged from €340 to €360/t, with recent quotes showing a tightening.

Quotes for 18:6:12 were about €10/t ahead of urea for the most part, generally from €355 to highs of €370/t.

Again, the lowest quote was seen in Cork at €350/t. Moving up the country, the majority of quotes were for between €355 and €360/t, with a high of €370/t quoted in the west.

While very little CAN is moving from yards according to merchants, prices quoted ranged between €255 and €270/t. Prices quoted in the northeast were around the €260/t mark, while quotes in the midlands came back to €255/t, the lowest quote received for CAN. The highest quote of €270/t came in the southeast.

The sentiment among merchants is that there will be very little movement on prices over the coming months, bringing a sense of stability to the market.