EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski has offered tentative support to creating an EU-wide fertilisers strategy to help protect farmers against potential future shortages.

A potential initiative to boost domestic production of fertilisers to reduce reliance on third countries – particularly Russia- was discussed in August during a meeting between Spanish agriculture minister Luis Planas and his French counterpart Marc Fesneau.

At the time, the French stressed the need to set up “an EU strategy for fertilisers like the energy strategy,” concerning the REPower EU plan to limit reliance on Russian fossil fuels. At the same time, Planas highlighted the importance of regaining strategic autonomy in the production of fertilisers.

The topic was again in the spotlight during the informal meeting of EU-27 agriculture ministers in Prague on Friday (16 September), where calls to address the issue holistically were reiterated.

“We need to seriously consider this strategy,” the Commissioner told reporters ahead of the informal meeting, calling the prospect “very interesting”.

He added the situation is “now so complex,” and there is a problem with ensuring an adequate supply of fertilisers and substitution mineral fertilisers while reducing livestock numbers and changing animal production.

A representative of the EU farmers’ association COPA-COGECA backed the move in a press conference on 12 September to help secure a steady supply of fertilisers across the EU.

According to data from the industry association Fertilizers Europe, Russia and Belarus provide 60% of the EU’s fertiliser. Sanctions introduced in March on imports of potash from Belarus and interruptions to trade with Russia have put significant pressure on supplies.

This has left the sector scrambling for other sources, prompting mines in Eastern Germany to start test drilling for additional potash and look to alternative suppliers, such as Morocco.

Solidarity contribution

After the informal Council, Wojciechowski and Czech agriculture Minister and current Chair of the Agrifish EU Council Zdeněk Nekula said the situation is being tackled through technical discussions between the Commission and member states.

“The topic of fertilisers is basically our daily bread,” said Nekula, echoing Wojciechowski’s portrayal of the situation as “the most sensitive problem for farmers now.”

So far, the only attempt to relieve the battered sector came from the Commission’s proposal of a solidarity contribution applying to large fossil sector companies that recorded large profits amid the energy crisis.

Announced publicly by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the Union address on 14 September, the contribution is supposed to support energy-intensive sectors, including EU fertiliser producers.

In Prague, Wojciechowski hailed the proposal to improve the situation by transferring some extraordinary profits from the energy companies to the fertiliser producers, explicitly mentioned in the regulation as one of the most affected sectors.

“This is the chance to support producers of fertilisers and also reduce the price for the farmers,” he said in a press conference on 16 September.

Suspending tariffs

Meanwhile, the latest interruptions of Russian gas flows to Europe have also reignited debates on fertiliser import tariffs.

The European Commission proposed suspending tariffs on inputs used for producing nitrogen fertilisers – urea and ammonia – until the end of 2024.

The proposal is awaiting approval from member states – which may come during the next meeting of agriculture ministers on 26 September.

“We’ll have the formal Council of EU [at the end of September], and we’re going to discuss this topic in depth,” Nekula told reporters in Prague.

Asked about whether member states will look to approve the suspension of tariffs, Nekula said ministers have “discussed it, and we mentioned tariffs,” but stakeholders should “wait for further information after the negotiations on 26 September”.

However, farmers are now urging decision-makers to go further and suspend tariffs on all mineral fertilisers.

Another advocate in favour of lifting anti-dumping measures for ammonia and other chemical fertilisers is the Chair of the European Parliament’s agriculture committee (AGRI), the German MEP Norbert Lins, who also addressed ministers in Prague.

A source told EURACTIV that he presented ministers with the prospect of not having enough cereals in the future if the problem is not sorted.

Such a suspension would prove controversial, as the EU fertiliser industry opposes this move.

Questioned by EURACTIV as to whether there was room in the Commission proposal to include all mineral fertilisers, Wojciechowski was non-committal, stressing the need to “monitor the situation”.

“[We need to] see what will be the situation in the future,” he said, adding an acknowledgement that the problem of fertiliser is sensitive for farmers and is needed to ensure food security.

Kateřina Horáková contributed to this reporting. 

Source: Euractiv.com