The European Commission (E.C.) on July 20 announced that it is planning to temporarily suspend import duties of 5.5% and 6.5% on nitrogen-based inputs such as ammonia and urea for the production of nitrogen fertilizers until the end of 2024, as a means to support food production and keep prices in check in response to the fallout of the war in Ukraine.
The Commission’s measures are aimed at “lowering costs for E.U. producers and farmers” and helping “increase the stability and diversification of supply by fostering imports from a wider range of third countries, while excluding Russia and Belarus from the suspension of tariffs.”
However, the Bloc’s farmers do not believe the measures are sufficient.
Brussels-based Copa-Cogeca, which represents E.U. farmers and agri-cooperatives, in a July 20 statement welcomed the E.C’s move to suspend conventional tariffs for urea and anhydrous ammonia, describing it as “a step in the right direction.” But the organization noted the move did not include suspending conventional duties on key fertilizers used directly by farmers i.e., UAN, DAP, MAP, and NPK, or antidumping duties on UAN imports from Trinidad and Tobago and the U.S.
“This approach still protects European fertilizer producers to their advantage and will not provide an easy fix for farmers,” Copa-Cogeca said.
Copa-Cogeca called on the Commission to suspend antidumping duties on UAN imports from Trinidad and Tobago and the U.S., and conventional tariffs on fertilizing products used by European farmers.
The organization said only such an ambitious measure could make those markets more dynamic and bring down the prices paid by farmers in the long term.
“European farmers are now facing the dual risk of skyrocket high mineral fertilizer prices and shortages, severely affecting not only their incomes but also the E.U.s food production and global food security,” Copa-Cogeca said, noting that its members already are worried about the delay experienced in the new fertilizer purchasing campaign.