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An intervention by European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan in a fertiliser row that recently saw anti-dumping duties placed on certain fertiliser imports has been welcomed by the IFA.
IFA president Joe Healy said Commissioner Hogan’s request for Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager to take action on questionable fertiliser business practises was a turning point in an “escalating fertiliser debacle”.
The trade wing of the European Commission, headed up by Cecilia Malmström, recently imposed temporary duties on the import of non-EU liquid urea ammonium nitrate (UAN).
According to figures compiled by the IFA and other EU farming groups the duties will cost farmers an estimated €2.7bn over the term.
Malfunctioning
“Commissioner Hogan’s assessment of the malfunctioning of the EU’s fertiliser market mirrors many of the conclusions raised in the IFA commissioned study into the sector, carried out by the Washington based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
“Indeed, he rightly points to the need for price transparency and the operation of fair pricing mechanisms to create a properly functioning market,” Healy stated.
Healy said it was worrying that DG Trade had saw fit to extend temporary anti-dumping duties in light of the findings in the IFPRI report.
Price fixing
The report found fertiliser prices in western European countries had increased by 123% at the same time they decreased by 65% in Brazil. It suggested that price fixing and cartels may be in operation in Western Europe.
“Commissioners Malmström and Vestager must pay heed to Hogan’s request as it is in the Union’s interest to ensure that we maintain the competitiveness of the EU’s farming sector and support family farm incomes,” Healy concluded.
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