Falling gas prices should mean a fall in cost of fertiliser not a rise – McEntee

“Farmers are set to pay more for fertiliser in 2015, but with oil and gas prices falling, a similar drop in the price of fertiliser should be expected. This is something I intend to raise with the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission”, said Helen McEntee, Fine Gael TD for Meath East.

“The cost of crude oil has fallen by more than 45% since June 2014, with gas prices dropping in a similar way. The Market Observatory for Energy has stated that while natural gas prices are not seeing the radical falls that oil is experiencing, there has been a significant fall from an average of €25 Megawatt hour to around €20 Megawatt hour since the beginning of December. Despite this a 7% increase in fertiliser prices is anticipated in 2015.

“Fertiliser prices traditionally correlate with gas prices but at this stage it seems clear that this will not be the case in 2015. The EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Phil Hogan has expressed his intention to highlight this anomaly in Europe, but I believe that we need to also look at this issue on a national level.

“It is not acceptable that suppliers should be in a position to drive prices up, when the cost of producing fertiliser is dropping. Farmers must deal with variations in prices for produce and they are forever at the mercy of Mother Nature. They should not, however, be at the mercy of profitable suppliers trying to further increase their margins.

“This Government is pursuing policies to grow the economy, create jobs and reduce unemployment so everyone feels the benefits of recovery and this includes farmers. The agri-food sector is now the largest indigenous industry in Ireland employing 167,000 people. In 2013 alone, 61,000 new jobs were created in Ireland with agriculture, forestry and fisheries making up 30% or almost 27,000 of these jobs.                                             

“It is essential that every player from the beginning to the end of the food chain is treated fairly. Over the course of a year expenses like fertiliser can make a significant difference to costs.

“I will write to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and will pursue this issue further with the EU Commissioner for Agriculture.”