Drastic rise in EU fertiliser prices – Commission measures
12.10.2021
Priority question for written answer P-004610/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Krzysztof Jurgiel (ECR)
The price of agricultural inputs, particularly fertilisers, is rising drastically. The Polish agricultural portal ‘farmer.pl’ reports that ‘diammonium phosphate (DAP) has doubled in net value in the space of 18 months, from PLN 1 450 in January 2020 to the current PLN 3 000; the price of UAN (urea-ammonium nitrate fertiliser) has also increased by 32%, from PLN 850 to PLN 1 250 net per tonne, and potassium salt has increased from PLN 1 450 to PLN 1 650 net per tonne’.
Several simultaneously occurring factors have caused this situation:
- 1.the EU ban on the import and transit of potash from Belarus, which is the world’s largest producer of this agricultural nutrient,
- 2.the Commission's decision to impose anti-dumping duties on fertilisers from the USA, Russia, and Trinidad and Tobago,
- 3.and record high gas prices (annual increase of 595%) accounting for 60-80% of the industry's operating costs.
According to the Copa Cogeca organisation, the introduction of anti-dumping duties by the Commission had the greatest impact on the price of liquid fertilisers, which has doubled since the Commission adopted this measure. Nonetheless, Article 14(4) of Regulation 2016/1036 provides for the possibility to suspend the application of anti-dumping measures in case of temporary changes in market conditions, if it is in the Union interest.
In this regard:
does the Commission plan to apply the aforementioned Regulation and suspend the anti-dumping duties on fertilisers from the USA, Russia, and Trinidad and Tobago, in order to help combat disproportionately high fertiliser prices?