A ‘trigger point’ that would allow growers to claim back higher fertiliser costs and better transparency in market pricing are among the union’s asks
The NFU has released a ’fertiliser resilience plan’ with a series of immediate actions needed from government and the farming industry as input costs continue to rise due to the Middle East conflict.
Disruption out of the Strait of Hormuz continues to impact farmers and growers. In April, fertiliser prices had increased by almost 40 per cent compared to pre-war levels and remain elevated.
The price of fertiliser has already exceeded £500/t several times since the conflict began, with urea having reached £635/t and imported ammonium nitrate hitting £535/t in April, the NFU said.
The UK is particularly vulnerable to global shocks, importing around 60 per cent of its nitrogen fertiliser and the remainder which is processed or produced domestically using wholly imported ammonia.
“The increasing costs of fertiliser, energy and fuel in the run-up to this year’s harvest has already made things incredibly challenging for farm businesses,” said NFU president, Tom Bradshaw.
“Many will already be turning their attention to making decisions about next year’s crops. Fertiliser for 2027 must be affordable,” he said.
“If it is not, some farmers and growers could be left facing incredibly tough decisions about whether to try to grow a crop with reduced fertiliser applications, or whether to plant at all. It is vital both industry and government take the necessary actions now to help ease this strain.”
The NFU’s fertiliser resilience plan includes the following:
- Should imported ammonium nitrate hit a trigger point of £500/t1, government should launch a mirror of EU compensation schemes. Under this scheme, growers would be permitted to claim support covering up to 70 per cent of the additional fertiliser costs, up to £50,000.
- Government should postpone the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and review in 12 months. Introduction of CBAM could further increase fertiliser costs, create import friction, and risks sparking further food price inflation.
- AHDB to tackle information gaps on nutrient management to minimise risk that growers reduce/delay applying essential nutrients.
- AHDB to provide additional insights and transparency on the fertiliser supply chain, such as trade, stocks, usage and relative pricing to enable growers to make rational decisions at the point of purchase.
