Irish farmers are looking to the European Commission, which is due to unveil its Fertilizer Action Plan tomorrow (19 May), to achieve “some level of price stability”.
European Commissioner for Agriculture, Christoph Hansen, is due to present the Commission’s Fertilizer Action Plan to the European Parliament tomorrow.
According to the latest European Union data, 30% of nitrogen and 70% of phosphate fertilizers used in the European Union for agricultural production are imported, while fertilizer production in the European Union depends on natural gas.
Fertilizer and gas prices have risen steadily due to the crisis in the Middle East.
It is estimated that the price of ammonium and calcium nitrate has increased by about 20% since the beginning of March, while the price of urea has increased by up to 60%.
The impact of rising prices on Irish farmers has been significant, according to Gerard O’Reilly, chairman of the Irish Cavan Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA).
O’Reilly said Agriland: “Fertilizer prices have risen dramatically while milk prices have remained stagnant and have fallen since last year – they are currently below the cost of production.
“Fertiliser prices are exorbitant, and it’s one of our biggest inputs. We rely heavily on fertilizer to grow grass for the system we live in – we rely on nitrogen and it’s a big part of the job.
“Access to fertilizers and the price of fertilizers are very worrying right now.
Fertilizer business plan
According to Cavan Dairy Farms, Irish farmers need to be able to plan ahead regarding fertilizer requirements.
“We need a certain level of price stability. We need to be able to plan and know approximately the price of fertilizer for next year so we can budget for it.
O’Reilly added: “We need to know that we’re going to have access to a steady supply of it. It’s been in extreme turmoil since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”
He said Irish farmers were “relying on Europe” to control the big fertilizer companies and to help farmers “get some sort of stability in dealing with them”.
According to the dairy farmer, all input costs have risen against the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East, but “fertilizers are completely out of reach.”
“If we don’t grow grass, we won’t put milk in the tank, and if we don’t put milk in the tank, we won’t get paid for the milk – that will have a huge impact.
“Ultimately, it’s going to impact consumers because food costs are going to go up dramatically, the cost of producing food is going to go up, and so the cost of food has to go up to match that,” O’Reilly warned.
According to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Haydon, his department will close its monitoring of fertilizer supply issues and concerns.
He confirmed that fertilizer products continued to arrive in Ireland but “there are supply challenges, particularly in the case of urea”.
The Minister also pointed to the fact that National Fertilizer Database import figures show that Irish fertilizer stocks increased significantly during the fourth quarter of 2025 – with CAN imports increasing by 55% and urea by 260%.
One of the key issues facing Irish farmers as fertilizer prices continue to rise relates to the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
The EU states that this is “an environmental policy tool for fair pricing of carbon emissions” – but farmers disagree.
The CBAM law came into force on January 1 and is essentially a tax on imports of carbon-intensive products into the EU, including fertilisers.
Minister Haydon has repeatedly raised the need to operationalize Article 27a of the CBAM at various meetings of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council (AGRIFISH).
He believes that Section 27A of the CBAM Act allows “certain elements to be suspended under specified criteria”.
In his opinion, “we are now in this period of crisis where fertilizers need to be put aside as part of CBAM.”
