The cost of green diesel rose in July, recording the biggest monthly increase since March 2026, according to the latest figures from the Farm and Forestry Contractors Association of Ireland (FCI).
The latest FCI Agricultural Diesel Price Index showed that average green diesel prices continued to rise throughout July, even as white diesel prices fell and, in some cases, returned to pre-conflict levels in the Middle East.
“For farm contractors, diesel is not an optional cost: it is an essential input to running harvesting, planting, cultivation and a wide range of agricultural operations,” FCI said.
“Unlike motorists, contractors purchase fuel in bulk and therefore often have little choice over where the fuel comes from, with many rural areas served by only a small number of suppliers.”
Source: FCI
FCI This lack of competition may be contributing to “disproportionately high agricultural diesel prices,” he said, raising questions about “whether recent rises can be fully justified by moves in wholesale fuel markets alone.”
“There is no clear justification”
“While white diesel prices fell below pre-war levels at many filling stations during July, green diesel never returned to pre-war levels,” said FCI National President Norman Egar.
“This is something that is difficult for contractors to understand and accept, especially since both fuels originate from the same base product.”
The only real difference, Egar added, is that agricultural diesel contains a distinct dye.
He said: “There is no clear justification for the amount of price volatility that we have witnessed in recent months.
“Contractors, who rely on diesel daily to provide essential services to farmers, deserve greater transparency about how these prices are set,” he added.
The FCI is calling for greater scrutiny and transparency of the agrifuel market to ensure that green diesel prices accurately reflect “underlying wholesale costs” and that farm contractors “do not disproportionately bear the burden of unjustified price increases”.
